Arachnophobia
by Bloodlustful
Summary: Gray Wolf, though glad to be joined with the group, especially Tiger, has not seen the end of his problems. Because he's had a secret fear all his life that now rears its scary head on one fateful night. The secret is out...
1. Chapter 1

Greetings! I thought I would end my Monster Rancher/Disney Trilogy and make a fic of the franchise which was much more scary and serious. Of course I mean it for Halloween. Which is why I'm starting it now and intending to have it done by Halloween.

This is not part of the aforementioned trilogy, btw, though it has some of its aspects. I also made this fic because I feel Gray Wolf doesn't have enough fics centered around him, and he's my second favorite character in Monster Rancher next to his brother Tiger of the Wind. So I wrote this seven chapter story about him.

In this fanfic, Gray Wolf has both been reunited with Tiger and joined the group, and Pixie has both joined and had Big Blue brought to life again, making it so he's reunited with her and she's in her original form. And there are not nearly as many evil monsters as there used to be, and those that exist the new gang deals with. All is well and will be perfect from now on, right? WRONG! Because Gray Wolf just happens to have a fear that you'd never guess a cool, handsome wolf like him would be afflicted with. Hope you like it. I don't own any of the characters. They all belong to Monster Rancher.

ARACHNOPHOBIA

Chapter 1-Gray Wolf's Secret Fear Revealed

It had been quite the nice, pleasant night this evening. The Monster Rancher gang was enjoying a fun, quiet, dark night of just looking out into the distance and feeling totally and utterly secure. Big Blue had been resurrected recently and Pixie simultaneously was restored to her original form.

Gray Wolf had even more recently joined the group, right after Big Blue and Pixie did much the same. And all loose ends had been tied up(such as Tiger, Gray Wolf, Pixie and Big Blue being seen as heroes, not thieves or baddies like they once were, and reconciliation plus patching up of things being done), plus Gray Wolf and Big Blue were happy to be reunited with Pixie and Tiger, respectively, at last.

Needless to say, with this being the case, plus how what few baddies were still around were invariably thwarted by the new Monster Rancher gang no matter what, it looked as if all would be a snap from here. That, however, would ironically change on this very night of such security and tranquility, both of which would be shattered soon enough. Here's how.

Golem, who had just finished making one of his special soups, was passing it around to his friends for dinner tonight. He asked each one how much they'd like, and when he got to Gray Wolf, he asked: "And finally, how much would Gray Wolf like?" "Regular bordering on big will do fine, Golem." Gray Wolf replied. Golem smiled and began to pour Gray Wolf's share for him.

Just then, however, a big, long legged, shiny spider came into the cave, and though it just happened to be passing by, it nevertheless crawled over the right paw of Gray Wolf by chance. A second later, feeling the funny sensation on his paw, Gray Wolf looked down while going quietly and rather casually: "Hmm? What's that…" But it was an entirely different matter in terms of the way he felt about this when he saw it was a spider on his paw. For just as the spider started to go on and crawl off his paw, it looked up at him for a second and then scuttled off. This caused the poor wolf to scream in fright and leap right onto Golem's shoulder, causing him to drop the bowl and serving spoon, and also causing him to topple off balance while Gray Wolf clung to him.

"HUH? WHAT IN THE WORLD?" Suezo exclaimed as Gray Wolf was stuck to Golem as though covered in glue, eyes wide open with fright. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God." panted the silver horned wolf. "PLEASE KILL IT. PLEASE KILL IT. PLEASE KILL IT." "Kill what?" asked Holly. "What the hell's gotten into you?" asked Hare. "Gray Wolf, what's going on here?" asked Tiger to his brother. "This isn't like you." "I know." Gray Wolf gasped. "But…I can't stand…" He hesitated, for it was embarrassing to know they'd now all seen his fear, and no way to deny it was available. "You can't stand what?" asked Genki.

Holly looked around and said: "I don't see anything, but it must have been pretty nasty to spook a brave guy like Gray Wolf that way." "It was…" Gray Wolf choked out. "OH, NO! IT'S BACK!" They turned and saw the same spider coming back to where they were. "A spider?" let out Big Blue. "Is this what you're talking about?" asked Pixie. "YES!" howled Gray Wolf. He at this point just wanted that spider to be crushed, pride and dignity be damned. "PLEASE CRUSH IT! I CAN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF IT!" He was now trembling, and Golem could feel Gray Wolf's body vibrating against his own in fear. "PLEASE!"

"All right, already!" Holly shouted. "Calm down, Gray Wolf!" "Big Blue?" asked Pixie. Big Blue nodded and crushed the spider dead with his foot. Gray Wolf's heart didn't pound quite as fast anymore, and he began to slowly but surely relax. Soon, he was relieved enough to jump back down to the ground again. He did so, and said: "Sorry…" "Gray Wolf, what was that about, anyway?" Tiger asked. "You've never shown a faint sign of fear any more than I have, let alone jumped like that!" "I know, Tiger…" Gray Wolf replied, facing the humiliation as he partly did a turning away of his head. "But I guess the beans are spilled now…"

"Wait! Hold on a second!" Hare said, catching on quickly. "Don't tell me the big, bad Gray Wolf is AFRAID OF SPIDERS!" Suezo started laughing: "WHAT? YOU'RE SCARED OF SPIDERS? All the baddies you face, all you've gone through, braved and overcome, and harmless little spiders freak you out? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "CHI!" Mocchi cackled as he, Suezo and Hare burst out laughing. Genki, Holly, Golem, Big Blue, Pixie and, of course, plus especially, Tiger, glared at them, and Gray Wolf went further by exploding: "SHUT UP! IT'S NOT FUNNY, DAMMIT!"

The three were silenced by this with the exception of Mocchi saying: "Sorry, Chi…" But then Gray Wolf admitted: "Even so, it's true. I…know I can't pretend…you've seen it…I wish I could be different than this, but…I just can't stand the sight of spiders…I'm so frightened of all of them…oh, Tiger. You're probably ashamed of me." "Never, Gray Wolf." Tiger replied. "You are my brother and I love you as much as you love me. I don't care what you are or aren't afraid of. Your being my brother is not a test." "Oh…" Gray Wolf replied. "…sorry, Tiger. I guess I'm just feeling so much at once I'm not thinking straight…" "It's okay, brother." Tiger replied, then he nuzzled Gray Wolf to try and cheer him up some.

Gray Wolf felt a bit better, so he turned to Golem and said: "Oh, and I'm sorry I jumped on you and made you spill my soup." "Apology accepted." Golem replied. "It wasn't your fault that spider came when it did." Gray Wolf then told Big Blue: "Thanks for killing it for me, by the way." "Of course." Big Blue replied. "Still, we had no idea you were frightened of spiders, Gray Wolf!" Holly exclaimed. "You poor dear." "Why didn't you ever tell any of us?" Genki's question to Gray Wolf consisted of.

"Right. I'm a vicious dark hero of a wolf monster and I'm going to reveal something as absurd as being scared of spiders. Even I think it's preposterous." Gray Wolf told him. "It's so, so, so embarrassing…" He hung his head, but then told them: "However, since it's no longer a secret, which is how I kept it for so long, up until now, in fact, I should admit to it…I've been…I have been…" He paused, but then mustered the courage to finish the sentence. "I've been scared of spiders since I was a little puppy." "What?" exclaimed Pixie. "I never saw anything happen to cause such a fear, and I was with you when we were puppies, just as we're together now." Tiger told him. "What happened, Gray Wolf? You can tell me anything, and you know it."

The group gathered around as Gray Wolf nodded, and swallowed his pride again as so to tell them how he got to be arachnophobic. "When I was a little puppy," he began, "and before me and Tiger got separated from our mother forever, Tiger was asleep in the den she'd left us in while she was out hunting for prey. I, meanwhile, was wide awake, but just lying still and taking a curious look around the den, since I didn't want to wake Tiger, but wanted something to do. It went ordinarily until, just as I could hear mother's footsteps, indicating she was returning to the den…" He paused again, but then went on. "…a big, repulsive, filthy, shiny, black spider came along and crawled onto my body, attaching its front legs to my face."

"WHOA…" Holly gaped. "And you were a puppy back then…" "It must have been so horrible for you." Pixie added. "Chi." Mocchi nodded. "It was." Gray Wolf replied. "I was so outright terrified that I didn't even move or scream. Thankfully for me, the spider got off me in time so that it left the den before Tiger awoke and mother returned. So, even though I did not get back to normal even remotely until after Tiger woke up and mother was back, and both noticed my frightened state, I was able to give a white lie, doing so because this was so ignominious as it was and I didn't want it to become more so, and tell them I just had a bad dream. I never thought I would get a dose of such a fright as this again, but believe me, I have been deathly afraid of any and all spiders since then, even the tiny ones. It would have been one thing if that spider was just a small, regular, barely conspicuous one. But NO, it had to be big, shiny and disgusting, plus be looking like one which could easily eat a small bird, or, dare I say it, even a wolf pup."

"And now that fear you've kept from everyone for so long and tried to forget has finally resurfaced." Tiger sighed. "Yeah, it has." Gray Wolf nodded. "Sorry I lied, but it was just too hard to tell what was really scaring me." "Gray Wolf, I understand, but what you need to equally understand is that no matter how embarrassing or frightening to you it may be, always be honest with your family. Me, your brother, and I would say our mother if she were still here." Tiger did a turn of his head and tried to ignore the painful memory of their being separated. "From now on, be sure to tell the truth to me, no matter what. Okay?" "Okay." Gray Wolf said. Tiger nodded, in the next moment saying: "And apology accepted." Gray Wolf gave a weak smile.

"We're glad you feel better, Gray Wolf," Genki told him, "but that still leaves us with the question of how we deal with this!" "Chi!" Mocchi agreed. "Thank God it came at a time when we don't have nearly as many baddies around and Moo no longer threatens this world!" Pixie put in. "None of us could agree more, I don't think." Big Blue concurred. "Still, it's never going to be anything but stuck on me, this fear of spiders." Gray Wolf sighed. "Even while I agree most of all. I'm not sure there's anything any of us can do." "We'll find a way to help you, brother. I promise." Tiger told him. "One way or the other, we'll cure your fear, or at least reduce it." put in Genki. "Most likely by having you swallow spiders as pills!" quipped Hare.

"HARE!" shouted Tiger and Pixie at him in unison. "Come on, it was just a joke!" "Well, it wasn't a very funny one!" barked Gray Wolf. "I'll remember this when you reveal a crippling fear of your own!" "Calm down, Gray Wolf. The last thing you want to do is fly into a rage right now." Holly reminded. "Oh, of course…" sighed Gray Wolf, though he glared at Hare. "So what now?" asked Suezo. "I think we could all use some sleep now." Genki pointed out. "You know, after this and everything." "Good idea." Gray Wolf said. "That spider crawling on my paw not only almost gave me a heart attack, it wrenched my appetite from me for the night and did the same to my vitality." He plopped down to sleep, and Tiger then said: "I think I'll stay by his side tonight. He needs comfort from his brother."

"We agree." Pixie nodded, and Hare remarked: "Awwww, Tiger's such a softie at heart!" "Don't test my patience, Hare…" growled Tiger. "Please, none of this now." Holly begged. And everyone, including Tiger and Hare, were tired anyway. So they just glared at each other, turned away and Tiger fell asleep, while soon thereafter, the others found a place to rest and then fell asleep as well. Though one thing was for certain. They'd feel rested in the morning, but it'd be a hard thing to do, to find a way to help Gray Wolf with his arachnophobia problem which was as of now all too well known despite being a secret for so long.

TO BE CONTINUED…

So, how did you like this first chapter of this spooky story? Please rate and review, everyone!


	2. Chapter 2

All right, time for the next chapter in my Monster Rancher fanfic, Arachnophobia! This is where the gang tries to help Gray Wolf with his fear by making it so each one takes a turn using a different method to help him try and overcome it. The only problem? While this may help, it has just as great a chance of making his fear worse. Nevertheless, it's a chance everyone will have to take. Including Gray Wolf himself. All right, on with the next chapter.

I own none of the characters, since I am not the company behind Monster Rancher.

Chapter 2-Day Of A Dimensional Dread

Morning came surprisingly early for the goodies. When breakfast was served by Holly, she had hers quickly, gave Gray Wolf twice as much as the others for how he'd lost his appetite the other night thanks to his fear, and took off to apparently get something, though she'd told the others it would help Gray Wolf with his fear, or be a chance it could happen. While the others ate their own breakfast, it was being discussed how they might help Gray Wolf and what Holly was going to be bringing back.

"Okay, so here's the thing." Genki said. "Gray Wolf here needs to be helped with his newly discovered fear of spiders, and Holly obviously is going out so she can get something to try and deal with it to bring back here." "But what could possibly do anything?" asked Suezo. "I think I should have just invented something." Hare stated as everyone finished. "After all, it'd make things far less complicated. "Hare, don't kid yourself." Tiger told him. "You'd just make something to make things worse for Gray Wolf." "And you know it." Gray Wolf added.

"Guys, let's not make this harder than it has to be." Genki reminded. "Chi, no fighting, Chi!" Mocchi told them. "It's too early in the morning for this sort of thing." Pixie pointed out. Tiger, Gray Wolf and Hare rolled their eyes, and Big Blue said: "Anyway, I'm sure Holly will be able to find something which can either help get rid of Gray Wolf's fear, or at least make sure it stays numbed." "So let's all hold our horses." Golem put in.

Soon enough, Holly returned and said: "Hi, guys, I'm back ,and I've got great news!" "Hello, Holly!" said Genki. "It's good to see you again." Pixie added. "What's the great news, by the way?" Tiger in the next second asked her, hoping to hell it would be something to make it so Gray Wolf could be cured of his fear. "I went out to find what I hoped existed, and it turned out it did!" She reached into her pocket and took out a special amulet. "As you can see, I've got a hold of an amulet which is not just any amulet, but one that can create portals and alternate types of dimensions." "Really?" asked Pixie. "That's amazing, Holly!"

"But how will this help with my fear?" asked Gray Wolf. "I found it under the ground in a secret burial area, with the help of my magic stone." Holly explained. "I was able to find out it can do anything the wielder wants it to do at any time, at least when it comes to the portals and the dimensions it creates!" "No wonder it was buried and kept hidden as a secret." Suezo put in. "Chi." Mocchi spoke. "So you're thinking you can use it as a way to help me with my fear." said Gray Wolf, trying to understand what she was saying. "Exactly." Holly replied. "We can start any time you want, by the way." "Ingenious, Holly!" Hare exclaimed. "Almost as smart as I'd have done it!" "You and your bragging about being so smart…" Tiger said, rolling his eyes. "I bet you wouldn't be saying that if I punched out your teeth!" yelled Hare. "Wanna try it?" Tiger snarled. They pressed faces together and went: "EEEERRRRRRNNNGGGGHHHH!"

"None of this. Fighting is bad." Golem told them. "And especially when our main focus is the well being of Gray Wolf, Tiger…your brother!" Big Blue added. Tiger then realized what was being said and turned away from Hare, going: "All right, how do we do this?" "Surely you thought of it on the way back?" asked Gray Wolf to Holly. "I sure did." Holly told him. "You've all finished breakfast, I take it?" "Yes, we have. We're good and ready." Pixie replied. "All right, so here's how this will work." Holly told them. Everyone listened, especially Gray Wolf.

"I will make a different dimension every time with the amulet in question that we have here." Holly began. "They will vary in both design, look and which one of the lot of us helps to try and assist Gray Wolf during his time in that portal and dimension. But they will all serve the same purpose…to either flush Gray Wolf's fear from him, or at least to make it so he can control and/or ignore it. After all, the best way to deal with your fears is to face them. So, shall we get started?" "Yes, let's." Gray Wolf told her. "The sooner I can find a way to help this fear of mine, the better." "All right, first thing's first." Holly told them. "I think we should begin with the simple stuff and work our way up to the hardest."

"So which of us will be assisting Gray Wolf and which method to help with his fear will be used?" asked Suezo. "The first portal will lead to a dimension which will deal with trying to cope with spiders being in your presence, and you, Mocchi, will assist him." Holly told him. "Chi! Mocchi get to go first, Chi!" exclaimed Mocchi. Gray Wolf accepted this, though it was a bit embarrassing Mocchi would be picked to help one such as himself. He stifled it, though, for this was far too serious. "All right, let's get it started." Gray Wolf said. "Good luck, brother." Tiger said. "My thanks, brother." Gray Wolf replied. Holly got the portal going and then Gray Wolf and Mocchi entered it.

Soon enough, the two were in a dimension where there were dozens of spiders, and of all the species as well. It was a horrible swarm, and Gray Wolf nearly cringed, but he was trying to see to it he'd conquer his fear, so he didn't let it get to him at the first moment. "Okay, Chi, there are lots of spiders here!" Mocchi told Gray Wolf. "Let's see how well you deal with their being here." Gray Wolf said nothing, but just looked to all angles of him to make sure he didn't take his beautiful lilac eyes off a single one of the swarm. He was, to his surprise, dealing with it real well. "Of course, that's only because they're not moving." he thought.

Still, he thought he was going to eventually puke, for deep inside, he was quaking badly. He tried to suppress his fear, but it wasn't easy. Thankfully, after a while of being in there, he did not lose his lunch, so it was clear he'd passed this test. "All right, Chi, I think this part's over!" put in Mocchi. "Well done!" "Good to know." Gray Wolf sighed, relieved he'd not snapped or given in to his fear when this had only begun. They went into the portal to reenter where they'd been before. "So, how did it go?" asked Genki. "Pretty well, actually." Gray Wolf replied. "I was able to not snap with the first test, being in the presence of many spiders, so that is a step in the right direction." "Way to go!" Holly told him. "Are you up for the next one?"

"Now or never." Gray Wolf admitted. "Okay, then," Holly told him, "the next step is a bit harder than the previous one. Suezo will be assisting you with this one, and this dimension will have several spider webs around it, each with an individual owner. Both behind and in front of you. If you manage to pass this, you will be further in the right direction to conquering your fear." "Okay, let's begin." Gray Wolf told her. She nodded and made the next portal appear, with Suezo going: "Cool! I get to be the next one to help Gray Wolf out! How about that?" and then in the next moment hopping into the portal with Gray Wolf following him lithely.

Once they were in the dimension, Gray Wolf saw those spider webs, each with one owner apiece, in front of and behind him, then he went: "Oh, dear…" but did his best not to let it bring him down like had happened the night before. "Okay, so we have lots of spider webs here, and not a one is vacant. If you can last without falling apart, you'll have more hope and go even more distance on the path to conquering your fear!" Suezo told him. Gray Wolf dropped his head and closed his eyes a few times to make it easier, but every time he opened them, it seemed to get all the worse. Still, he tried hard not to allow his fear to consume him.

By the time the spiders started moving around in their webs, Gray Wolf opened his eyes wide, but he was able to keep stable. Also by this time, it had been some time, so Suezo said: "I think that should do! And I gotta congratulate you! You're doing real well so far!" "Thanks." a reply from Gray Wolf consisted of. "But we're nowhere near done." "Still, let's get back so we can continue this." Suezo told him. They went through the portal and came back, then Suezo let out: "Another success! He's doing great!" "Cool! Way to go, Gray Wolf!" Genki said to his ex-adversary. "So what's the next one we're doing?" asked Hare. "The one where you, Hare, will be assisting Gray Wolf as you go into the dimension where you'll be in a shack with many spiders. I should mention all will be moving, but we have to advance as we go along."

"Okay, then. My brains should help guide you well, Gray Wolf." Hare said. "Do even one thing to make it worse for him, Hare, and I'll dissect you." Tiger warned. "Oh, don't you worry! I'll only help him, but not for that reason!" Hare put in. "Come along, Gray Wolf!" Gray Wolf rolled his eyes at having Hare help him, but he endured it for how crucial this was. He went on into the portal, and soon they were in the shack. Gray Wolf tensed to be ready for the spiders crawling about, and sure enough, he saw them doing so immediately. But he coped with it, even while he was still made uncomfortable, and Hare just whistled about casually, as if nothing was happening. After some time, Gray Wolf realized he hadn't shat or puked with fear, so it was all too clear he'd overcome this one as well." "Well, time's up! Still feeling strong, Gray Wolf?" a question from Hare consisted of. "Yeah. Overall." Gray Wolf replied. "Let's move it."

They left the portal and Hare told everyone: "Hey, guys! He did it! Looks like you were able to teach him a thing or two after all, Tiger." Tiger told him, knowing this was a sugar coated insult: "Watch it, Hare." "You're doing great, Gray Wolf." Pixie complimented him. "But what will the next level be?" asked Gray Wolf. "It will be a dimension in which several spiders will be dropping on down, and Golem will be assisting you. They are doing so rapidly and repeatedly, so have yourself good and braced for this one." "Golem come." Golem said as he walked into the portal with Gray Wolf, his only fellow goody who was gray like him in any way, coming behind him. Once they were in there, Gray Wolf remembered Holly's words and braced himself. And it was a wise thing to do, for several spiders began dropping down on their web lines near him.

"Oh, God…" Gray Wolf thought, beginning to tremble. "I know I had to get to a part like this sooner or later, but still…" He was shaking with fright on the inside, but didn't let that break him, nor did he succumb to it. "Golem know this scares Gray Wolf, but Golem have complete and utter faith in him." Golem told Gray Wolf. Gray Wolf nodded and made sure not to lose any focus or courage for a second. Eventually, the spiders stopped and they didn't move anymore, all of them just hanging there. It was over. Golem knew it and so did Gray Wolf. "Time to exit." put in Golem, and he and Gray Wolf went back to their regular world, Gray Wolf breathing a heavy sigh of relief thereafter. "I managed…but barely…" Gray Wolf told them.

"Golem is impressed." Golem said to them. "You keep going uphill like this, and you'll be free of your fear in no time!" smiled Big Blue. Gray Wolf was glad to hear this, though he was well aware part of his ability to do this came from the fact he was READY for the spiders, as opposed to last night, when he was caught off guard. Still, he didn't lose hope. "Anyway, we now go to the next level." Holly informed him. "Genki will be your assisting goody this time, and it will be a dimension where there are all the small but deadly spiders. You know, brown recluse, black widow and the like." "All right, let's get this over with, then!" Genki told to Gray Wolf. "Please tell me they won't attack on instinct." Tiger said, fearing for his brother's life. "Do not worry. I control this. They won't." Holly assured him. He nodded.

Gray Wolf and Genki entered the portal and went right into that dimension of Holly's. They got there and noticed the venomous killer spiders at once. "There they are." Genki spoke. "And here we go again." Gray Wolf nodded, knowing he wanted to piss and shit with fear, but refusing to do so for how he'd gotten this far and wasn't about to fall apart now. So they took a look as they moved about and Gray Wolf was able to stand it just long enough for to be a full success. Although, one thing he'd never admit to was knowing Holly's words of not making any of them attack helped a lot at this point, as did the fact no spider had touched him yet.

"Cool, Gray Wolf! You've done it again!" Genki commended. "We'll wrench this from you yet! Let's get back with the others!" Gray Wolf came with him, and then Holly told them: "I see you've done well again! Way to go!" "Believe me, I was really pleased with his ability to not be broken!" Genki informed them. "Anyhow, I take it the next level is about to commence?" was the question from Gray Wolf. "That it is." Holly replied. "Keep it up for just a bit longer, by the way. We're down to the last three." "Phew!" sighed Gray Wolf in his head, though he refrained from saying it out loud. "So we now have it that Big Blue assists you and we go into a dimension where all of the spiders are big. Tarantulas, bird eaters and the like. Prepared? Need a break first? Or are you ready to go." "I am ready to go, for a break would make it so I wouldn't be as braced. So let's do it now." Gray Wolf responded.

"Okay, then. Big Blue?" Holly asked. Big Blue beckoned Gray Wolf with a wave of his massive, blue, icy, rocky hand, and the two went through the portal she created. When once the two were in there, they looked at all the tarantulas, bird eaters, Sydney funnel webs and the like crawling around. Gray Wolf made sure to resist the urge to jump, especially since there were almost as many up on the high rocks around them as there were on the ground and the sides of the aforementioned rocks. But the test was over soon, and Gray Wolf was still standing. So he had won once more. "You did it, Gray Wolf." Big Blue said. "Looks like it." Gray Wolf told him as, much to his relief, he and Big Blue walked back to the world with the other goodies. "Man, I am so delighted with how you are lasting!" Holly said. "As are the rest of us!" added Tiger. "Me, in particular, brother!" "I am happy to hear it, but this isn't over yet." Gray Wolf pointed out.

"No, not quite." Holly put in. "This is the second to last of them. I will make it so it's a dimension with a dark house that has all the kinds of spiders you've seen before at once, and is having them moving about. I know this may sound like too much, but we have to make sure we conquer all the levels if we are to cure you or at least help you." Gray Wolf told her: "I fully am aware of this, and I understand completely." "Keep it up, brother. You're doing fantastically and I commend your endless bravery and spirit." Tiger said to Gray Wolf. "Thank you, brother." said Gray Wolf to Tiger. "That helps me a lot." "Anyhow, Pixie will assist you this time around, and I will make sure you're as ready for everything as ever." Holly told him. Pixie then told to him: "Well, let's move it. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you never have to do it again!" "So they got moving and entered into the dimension.

To neither one's shock, they were seeing all those spiders everywhere, and Gray Wolf could feel himself starting to reach his limit. His heart was pounding faster and his body was becoming slightly more white than grey, plus feeling a bit cold despite his fur. "But that's just fine." he thought to himself. "I don't have to keep this up for much longer." He also saw a few of the spiders crawl over his feet as well as Pixie's, but he bit his tongue and closed his eyes to see to it he did not flip at all. Still, he felt as if he was going to puke, piss and shit at any moment. He soon enough noticed a lot of time had passed and the spiders were away from him and Pixie. "Is it time to go or what?" asked Pixie. "It sure is." Gray Wolf said, not wanting to admit how much having an assistant to help him in this had contributed to his courage keeping up on this matter.

So they walked out of the portal and went to the Monster Rancher world with their goody comrades again, Gray Wolf saying: "I did it again. One more to go." "I really admire his ability to keep himself from breaking." Pixie told them. "Ha, ha! Let's hear it for Gray Wolf!" Genki's shout consisted of. "Chi!" Mocchi smiled. "My congrats, Gray Wolf." Tiger told him. "I knew you'd be able to pull through, and there's only one more to go." "Which, by the way, you'll be assisting him on, Tiger." Holly told him. "You see, this last one is the hardest of them all, with every spider from all the other ones here at once and moving about at and on you, and since you are his brother, the one he loves most in this group and vice versa and the one who'd helped him survive like you did in the past, along with saved him from being a baddy, you're all too fit to be with him on this last, final and hardest one." Tiger nodded and told Gray Wolf: "Be sure to remember everything I taught you." "I will." Gray Wolf replied to Tiger.

"This is it. The final obstacle." Holly told Gray Wolf. "Pass this, and you'll have good as conquered your fear." So she opened the last portal and Tiger and Gray Wolf entered, the latter braced for all he had to be ready for now more than ever. Like Holly said there would be, all the spiders seen before were here now and they were going right for the two wolves. Tiger was fully unaffected by it, but Gray Wolf was another story. He made sure not to crack now of all times and his determination helped him deal with it, but he was on the verge of being scared and both passing out and going white thanks to that fear. He didn't know where he was able to get the sort of courage he did to go through with it all and pass the final test, but he managed. When it was all over, Tiger told Gray Wolf: "Brother, you've done it, and I could not be more proud of you. I laud you for this, and it is time to go." Gray Wolf felt so happy now, for the spiders left and he'd go through the portal one last time, this time with his brother.

Once they were back, Tiger said: "He's done it. I knew he could." "And I did." Gray Wolf put in. "Kudos to you, Gray Wolf!" smiled Pixie. "You've officially overcome your fear!" Holly told him as she closed all the portals and put the amulet in her pocket just in case it'd be needed later for a different use. "Yeah, I think I have!" Gray Wolf proclaimed as the horribly intimidated feelings he'd previously been enduring and refusing to break under began to wear the hell off of him. He felt so thankful he was finally no longer arachnophobic. He could feel it being done already. The fear was seeping out of him and he felt increasingly like he would never be at all scared of spiders again. "Can't thank you guys enough, especially you, Holly and Tiger." put forth Gray Wolf. "I'm certain that from here I'll feel more normal than I have in a while."

Indeed, as everyone high-fived everyone, it seemed like Gray Wolf's fear of spiders was a thing of the past. However, it would only be this way provided he had the proper time to adjust to it all and know what it was like to be unafraid of them, since he'd just been cured of his fear. I am sorry to say that a horrible irony happened just then. For just as Gray Wolf was getting a taste of his new feeling and how the rest of his life seemed to be, a spider which happened to be on the top of the cave at the time dropped down on its web directly in front of his face. By chance, but it was still in front of his face all the same. And what helped Gray Wolf through all of, and most especially the final one, was the way he forced back what was trying to become his fear. For very understandable reasons, he was at this point clean out of all of it, and easily so.

Needless to say, his fear would come back and pull him right back down into its clutches if he saw one more spider for the next twelve hours, at least. And it had only been a few minutes or so. So when it dropped down in front of his face, everything he'd endured and gone through with to try and overcome his fear by facing it piled on back all at once and caused him to snap in a classic "the straw that broke the camel's back" moment. Everyone saw the spider drop down as well as what it made Gray Wolf do. "E-!" Gray Wolf screamed in fright, a fright fifty times worse than the one he'd had last night, and all too ironically, he leapt up and this time landed on the shoulder of Big Blue, who he clung to even more tightly than he'd clung to Golem. And that's quite a statement.

"OH, NO! WHY?" shouted Gray Wolf. "NOT NOW OF ALL TIMES! WE WERE SO CLOSE!" "ASSHOLE!" shouted Suezo to the spider as he chomped down and ate it. Holly put her hand over her face and went: "Man, poor Gray Wolf…that one spider had to drop down and ruin everything…" "Like he said, we were so close." Genki sighed in exasperation. Tiger went on over and said: "When you can let go of Big Blue, and it's no rush, come to me." He normally was not soft like this, but his brother had been through WAY too much. Gray Wolf could only do a nod and shiver as he gripped Big Blue tight. "The spider's gone, by the way." Pixie told Gray Wolf. "But my fear isn't. And it almost was." Gray Wolf sighed. "I just can't believe it…just my luck…" "I know." Tiger agreed, shaking his head. "Chi…" sighed Mocchi.

When Gray Wolf finally got down from Big Blue, he said: "Sorry this had to be so badly abolished, and so suddenly, at that. But I thank you for your kind intentions." "Of course, but it wasn't your fault." Holly told him. "So don't act like it was." Tiger said to him. He gave Gray Wolf a hug, and Gray Wolf buried his face into his brother's fur until he finally felt back to his normal self as much as he could. "Could I have some time alone, please? No offense to any of you, but right now, I need it." "Of course you can." Genki responded. Gray Wolf turned to Tiger, said: "Oh, and thanks for helping me cool off from that shock, brother." "You're welcome." Said Tiger, and Gray Wolf took off to a part of the cave, made sure it was fully devoid of spiders, and lay down to rest and recover from his horrible misfortune once he saw it was.

"Well, another try at this is out of the question." Hare sighed. "Yep, no denying it." said Genki. "We've got a really long way to go." "And that's if we can even find another way to help the poor wolf…" Holly sighed. "We will. I promised him that, and so did the rest of you. We all will, one way or the other." Tiger reminded. "Still, Golem feel sad for Gray Wolf." Golem stated gloomily. "He came so close, and look what happened by chance…" He shook his head glumly.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Hope that this chapter was entertaining to you, and please give reviews and ratings!


	3. Chapter 3

I'm back, and the third chapter is hot and fresh from the oven! This is when, after he's made as much of a recovery as he can from his conquering of the fear being ruined, Gray Wolf sleeps, only to have a nightmare which heightens his problem in the worst way. Soon enough, much to their delight, the goodies find a seemingly wise old man who appears to have the answer to Gray Wolf's plight. A miracle! Or is it? You'll find out when you read this chapter.

I own none of the characters. All of them belong to Monster Rancher.

Chapter 3-Nightmares And Delirium

It had been a long day since that fateful misfortune Gray Wolf had when he was so close to conquering his fear, and surprisingly, it had been rather quiet and merciful since then. Much to everyone's relief, but especially that of Gray Wolf for obvious reasons. Now that everyone was fast asleep, including him, he felt that he would now be more free than ever of what he knew still existed despite having come so close to eliminating it, only for it to return at the last moment.

But not so. For as soon as he began dreaming, his dreams quickly became nightmares. He saw that he was, in fact, standing in webbing. Yeah, WEBBING. "Huh? What in the world?" he asked as he looked down at all four of his feet. "WEBS?" he went, suddenly becoming terrified. It was all too blatant why. The fact his feet were caught in webbing of all things could only mean one thing and one thing only. He was in the presence of spiders, and spiders galore. Even in his dreams, there was no escape from the one thing he was actually frightened of.

"Oh, God…" he shook, turning extremely white and beginning to shake. He was stilled and unable to move from the fright he was feeling. "Well, well, well, look what we have here." said the spider in the center who was obviously the king of the gigantic horde of spiders who lived in these webs. He was as big as he was hairy, and as frightening as he was repulsive. "An attractive, sleek young wolf." Then Gray Wolf saw several spiders crawl towards him and try though he might to attack them with every move he had, going: "Stay back, you filthy monsters! I'm warning you!" nothing happened at all, much to his further horror.

"Tie him up," said the queen spider next to the king, "or at least tie him down, so we may feast on his flesh." "As well as drain out his blood." the king added. "And his organs should taste especially good." added on one of the many spiders tying a paralyzed with fear Gray Wolf down. "Forget hot dogs…we like GRAY WOLVES!" cackled another spider. Many dropped down in front of and around Gray Wolf, then others leapt onto him. But then the worst part came.

A hole opened under Gray Wolf's feet and he fell, seeing as he fell a spider bigger than any of the others there, even if all of them were combined together into one! It was a colossal and tremendous monster spider, and equally scary looking, bloodthirsty and repulsive. As soon as he saw it open its mouth and go: "Here comes my mutt of a meal!" he screamed out loud, only to at that moment wake up. Wide awake and still screaming. To the point where everyone would be awakened by the noise, and soon come rushing in to where Gray Wolf was.

"Gray Wolf?" Tiger exclaimed. "Good God, brother, what happened?" "We were woke when we heard you scream as if you were in mortal pain!" Big Blue added. "Bad dream?" asked Genki. "BAD DREAM?" Gray Wolf exclaimed. "BAD DREAM? TRY A NIGHTMARE SO FULL OF SPIDERS IT FELT ALL TOO REAL AND ONE THAT MADE IT SO I'LL BE UP AND SLEEP DEPRIVED FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT!" Everyone was shocked at how he reacted so lividly, but Gray Wolf then calmed down as much as he could and told them: "I'm sorry I blew up like that…it was just so horrible…and I thought I'd dream about anything BUT spiders after today…trying to forget how miserably our plan failed…"

"It's okay, Gray Wolf. Don't lose hope." Holly told him. "We'll find a way to help you, one way or the other. Our first one may have failed by chance, but there are others we can try as soon as you've recovered from that…unfortunate happenstance…that ruined the last one." "But my God, no relief even in your dreams?" asked Suezo. "We really gotta help you!" "Chi!" put in Mocchi. "Hey!" Hare told them. "Let's cheer our little puppy up with a nice, happy song!" "I'm not a puppy, Hare…" Gray Wolf snarled. Hare ignored him and started singing: "The itsy witsy spider crawled right up Gray Wolf's snout! He then immediately started howling out…"

In the next instant, Hare was pinned to the ground by both Tiger and Gray Wolf, who were snarling furiously and talking through clenched teeth. "HARE, FOUR THINGS…" Tiger growled nastily. Gray Wolf then added: "SHUT…THE…FUCK…UP." "Do you understand?" asked Tiger. "Yes, yes, all right, already!" Hare cried. "Let me up!" They got off of him and turned away disgruntled, while Genki said to Hare: "Ha! Serves you right for making fun of Gray Wolf like that, and after he had a nightmare about spiders of all things, no less!" "Chi!" put in Mocchi. "Hare a jerk, Chi!" "Looks like more than a few members of this group need to start lightening up!" Hare scoffed.

"WHAT DID WE JUST TELL YOU, HARE?" Tiger roared. "TRY AND MAKE ME SHUT UP, TIGER!" Hare shouted, but Tiger blew his ice breath onto Hare and froze him solid. "I will, thank you." Tiger retorted. "Ha, ha! Tiger! Way to go!" Gray Wolf told his brother. "I'm speechless, Tiger…" gaped Pixie. "Although, in a good way." "Come on, guys. As mean as it was of him to be like he was, we have to defrost him…" Holly told them. Golem sighed: "Golem will do it." He picked up the frozen Hare and went to find some source of heat.

"Anyway, I'm sorry I woke you up." Gray Wolf sighed. "Guess I should just go out and take a dip in the water or something…" "It's okay, Gray Wolf. You couldn't help it and none of us are upset with you at all." Holly said comfortingly. "And we promise you, just like Tiger did, that we won't give up looking for a way to aid you in your time of need." added Pixie as she put a kind hand on his shoulder. He smiled and felt a little better, though he was still steamed at Hare as much as anyone, if not more so.

Soon enough, when everyone else resumed sleeping and Gray Wolf went out to take a dip in a nearby lake, things got better, albeit only gradually, from there. When the morning came, Gray Wolf got out of the water and walked back to the cave. He noticed quite a lot to note when he got there. Breakfast was being made and Hare had been defrosted by Golem, who found a hot spring earlier in the night, and thus was back with everyone, much to the dismay of both his blue brother and now Gray Wolf himself. Plus, everyone else was awake as much as Holly, Hare and Golem were. But Gray Wolf saw the perfect way to pay Hare back, and in front of everyone else.

"Oh, good morning, Gray Wolf!" Pixie said. "It's good to see you back here." "Would you like some breakfast?" asked Holly. "I would, in just a moment…" Gray Wolf replied. He walked in front of Hare, who was going: "Oh, uh, hi, Gray Wolf! So, no hard feelings about me making fun of your fear of spiders?" "That'll be the case as soon as I do this one thing…" Gray Wolf replied, grinning cruelly. "By the way, brother, how was your dip in the lake?" asked Tiger to Gray Wolf. "Did it make things any better for you?" asked Genki. "It sure did." Gray Wolf replied. "So much, in fact, I spent a great deal of time in there and just got out. As you're about to see with your own two eyes…"

Hare, true to intellectual form, quickly caught on to all that had been said and realized what Gray Wolf was going to do. "OH, NO! PLEASE NOT THAT!" cried Hare. But Gray Wolf paid his begging no heed. He shook off with all his might and drenched Hare soaking wet. Not to mention equally sopping wet. Everyone, even the hard headed Tiger, Pixie and Big Blue, burst out laughing. They fell over on their sides and Hare ran off in humiliation, sobbing his eyes out. After a while, everyone recovered from laughing. Gray Wolf then said: "What a washout that Hare is." while also laughing very hard. "Way to make him pay, brother!" Tiger cackled. "I'm just sorry it wasn't me!" "Ditto!" guffawed Pixie. "You said it!" Genki yelled out in laughter.

But once everyone was back to normal and breakfast had been eaten, Tiger thought he was the best to ask Gray Wolf: "By the way, are you up for any discussion on how we may find a different way to help you with your fear? If you still aren't ready, that's all right." "But if you are and can deal with it again, then we may have a brand new solution at hand." Golem told him. A reply from Gray Wolf of: "That dip I took in the water helped me a lot. I think I can stand it once more as long as there are no spiders for the next fifty miles." "Thankfully, I can't smell any and I can smell things great distances away, so I think there's nothing to fear." Tiger told his brother.

Gray Wolf nodded and said: "Okay, explain away. Now, more than ever, I want to be rid of my phobia once and for all. The quicker it happens, the better." "All right, so Genki, while you were still soaking yourself, suggested that we go and find a phobia doctor of some kind." put in Pixie. "He thought this would work much better where our nearly successful attempt with the amulet Holly found had failed." "We talked about it a lot and decided this was our best bet for the next try." Suezo informed him. "How does this sound to you?" asked Tiger. "It sounds like it could work…" Gray Wolf began, considering the facts. "I think we should try it. What have I got to lose, considering no hope of curing me of my phobia is too small at this point?"

"All right, then, it's settled." Genki told them. "Let's go, everyone. We need to find that phobia doctor as soon as possible." They left the cave, walked along the area they lived in and took a trip to village after village, it being to the point that they only stopped for things like rest to regain energy and lunch. Finally, however, just when they were about to lose hope, they found a village which looked like it may have exactly the fear doctor they were looking for. Gray Wolf told them: "Well, this is it. Our last village to be found." "If this doesn't provide us with the sort of doctor we're looking for, nothing will." Genki agreed. "I can tell by its looks alone."

"All right, then, let's go in." Holly said. "Though I admit it sort of gives me the shivers." They all walked into the village and the chief saw them enter. "Eh?" he said. "Who are you?" A reply from Genki spoke for them all: "We are a group of goodies. Heroes, that is to say. And we come here in search of a fear doctor." They told the chief their names, and then the reason they needed the fear doctor was told by the one who truly needed him. "Yeah, we need a fear doctor, all right. And fast. I have horrible arachnophobia and need help with it, you see." Gray Wolf said to the chief. "Ah, you've come to the right place." the chief told them. "All of you come right along, please." "Ah, thank God this is nearly over." Suezo stated. "Chi. It take so long to find this doctor, Chi." Mocchi added.

"Good thing is, it's about to pay off." Pixie pointed out. "Especially for my brother." put in Tiger. "All right, then, let's move it." Big Blue reminded. "Indeed." Genki spoke. "As good a time as any." Gray Wolf sighed. "I don't want to be trapped by my fear for one second longer." As all of them were led to the doctor they sought by the chief, the doctor in question came right on out. He did so because he'd noticed the group out the window of his place. Once he came out, the chief saw him and said: "Ah, splendid! He's arrived sooner than we expected!"

"Hello. I couldn't help but notice this group outside my window." the doctor told them. He looked like a wise old man, dressed in the kind of clothes and having the kind of beard you would expect any wise old man to have. He also had a variety of doctor's equipment. "That you did. They have come here for your help." the chief informed him. "Is that a fact?" asked the wise old doctor. "So, what is the problem, and who has it?" "Hi. We're called the goodies." Genki said to him. They all introduced themselves by name after that, then Genki went on. "And our problem is that our friend Gray Wolf here needs help with his intense fear of spiders." "It's been causing him trouble for two days now." Golem added.

"Well, a very simple matter for me." the doctor told them, stroking Gray Wolf atop the head, which, much to the horned wolf's surprise, actually felt good and, though he wouldn't at all admit it, he liked it. "I know just what you need, and you can be certain the treatment I give you will rid you of your fear once and forever. I bid you to come this way, Gray Wolf." The grey horned wolf gave a nod and followed the doctor, who said: "The rest of you wait here. When he has been cured, I will let him out to rejoin you." "Thank you so much. You have my highest of appreciation." Gray Wolf told him. "He speaks for all of us when he says that, by the way." said Tiger to the doctor. The doctor gave a kind smile and walked Gray Wolf into the place he was always working in within the village he lived in.

"All right, lie down on that table." the doctor told Gray Wolf, who obliged. "So, how are we going to deal with this?" asked Gray Wolf. "How will we rid me of my phobia, doctor?" "It is very simple, quick and efficient." the doctor told Gray Wolf. "You see, your fear of spiders is a hard, intense one, but it can be cured with a very special fluid only my own hands can create. It is a unique medicine which can eliminate any phobia of any kind, no matter what it is. It reads the phobia inside of the patient it is injected to, adjusts itself to destroy it and then does so with full accuracy, and permanent results." "That's amazing." Gray Wolf said, opening his lilac eyes up wide. "Well, it was no easy task creating it, but once I did, it was all too easy to duplicate." the doctor told him. "Now, then, you will need to have this injected, as I said, in order for it to work. Would you like some anesthesia first?"

"No thanks." Gray Wolf replied. "I've spent the last few days feeling like a puppy. I'm not going to go any further on that path. Give me something to bite, please, and inject away." A nod from the doctor was followed by him picking up a piece of metal which would withstand even the sharp, powerful teeth of Gray Wolf, and he placed it into his mouth. Gray Wolf, as he bit hard, was asked by the doctor: "Are you ready, Gray Wolf?" He nodded and the doctor got out the needle with which he would give Gray Wolf the medicine. He filled it up with the stuff he spoke of and put on the cover which also had the needle itself. Then he walked on over and said: "All right, here it comes." Gray Wolf nodded again and kept his teeth firmly on the piece of metal. The doctor injected the medicine into him, and though it hurt a lot, Gray Wolf ignored the pain and thanked the heavens his fear would be gone soon after this.

Once it was done, the doctor said: "All right, you can let go of that metal now." Gray Wolf did so and the doctor caught it, telling him: "Well done. My patients are always most cooperative, but I've rarely seen them this brave. I commend you." "Thanks." Gray Wolf said. "That's especially good to hear after two days of grappling with my now eliminated, or soon to be, fears, by the way. Shall I go get the payment from Genki, doctor?" "No, no, I'll come out and get it. You go rejoin your friends." Gray Wolf gave a nod, said: "Thanks again." and took off out of the place. The others saw him and Hare said: "Hey, look! It's Gray Wolf!" "Chi!" Mocchi put in. "He cured, Chi!" "I sure am." Gray Wolf smiled.

Indeed, it felt as if his fear had been washed from him for good, and he was now braver and tougher than he'd ever been before, which was quite a statement. "Ha, ha! This is just too good for words, brother!" Tiger told Gray Wolf. "You bet it is, brother!" Gray Wolf told Tiger as he rejoined the group. "I'm finally free of my fear!" "Man, good for you, Gray Wolf!" Holly told him. "Hey, guess we won't be having spider problems anymore, then!" Suezo added. "Yeah, but I would rather not think about spiders for a while, even cured. They're what got me into this mess in the first place." Gray Wolf reminded him. "Oh, sorry." Suezo said. Then Genki asked: "I think I should go pay the doctor now, though."

The doctor came out and said: "You can do it right now. I decided I'd come to you. Your friend was most appreciative, cooperative and courageous, by the way. I am glad I met a group with such a strong spirited member." "Hey, with all the praise Gray Wolf's getting these days, it's hard to believe he used to be a baddy!" mocked Hare. "Shut it, Hare!" Tiger snapped at the rabbit. "Try and make me!" Hare growled. They pressed faces and went: "NEEERRRRGGHH!" "Guys, not now! Please!" Holly said. "We just solved one problem. Let's not create a new one, okay?" asked Pixie. Then Tiger and Hare turned away from each other. Gray Wolf rolled his eyes and so did Genki, then the latter gave the coins to the doctor to pay for Gray Wolf's fear cure treatment. "Can't thank you enough, and all of us say this even though I speak for us all." Genki told him. "We gotta go now, but we all appreciate it just like Gray Wolf does."

"Though Hare sure could do more to show it than the rest of us could…" Tiger said under his breath. "What was that, Tiger?" asked Hare. "Like I'm gonna share my secrets with YOU of all people." Tiger retorted sharply. Hare tried to punch him, saying: "I'll knock it outta ya, then!" but Tiger ducked and leapt on Hare, pinning him down. "Yield, Hare!" Tiger snarled. "Okay, I give up! Uncle, uncle!" Tiger slowly got off Hare and said: "Try to attack me while my back is turned like you did last time, and you're my lunch." Tiger warned. Hare rolled his eyes and got up. The doctor asked: "Are these two…always like this?" "Pretty much." Holly replied.

"It's a bit complicated." Big Blue added. "Anyway, we should be going now. Our full thanks again." Genki told him. "And our thanks to the chief for helping us find this perfect fear doctor." Golem added. Gray Wolf smiled to the doctor and the chief, then they nodded and the goodies left the village. "Man, I feel better already." Gray Wolf sighed as he took in the air. He also looked to Tiger and said: "Way to put Hare in his place, by the way." "Of course." Tiger said. "It's a pleasure, especially since the only reason he beat me once was that cheap shot he took like the coward he is!" "Tiger, knock it off." Pixie said. "I realize Hare gives you grief 24-7, but seriously! Your brother just got cured of his fear. The last thing we want is another can of worms opened!" "All right…" Tiger sighed, though he shot Hare a swift dirty look, then Hare did well to return the favor.

"Speaking of your cure, how did the doctor cure you?" asked Holly. "He injected me with a special medicine which is designed to destroy any fear in any patient. It adjusts to what fear it needs to destroy, and then does so thoroughly and permanently." Gray Wolf explained. "It hurt a lot, the shot, but it was worth it. I feel like I did before that spider entered two days or so ago. More so than before, in fact." "Well, we're glad for you." Golem told Gray Wolf. "Chi." Mocchi nodded. "Why, thank you." Gray Wolf grinned.

Soon, they were back at the cave, and after a while of resting, they had dinner and Gray Wolf went to take a run about the fields alongside his brother. When it was time to sleep, all of them found an appropriate spot and dozed off. However, the interesting thing was that in the middle of the night, while he was halfway through his sleeping phase, Gray Wolf was effected in a way that neither he nor anyone else would ever expect at this point.

He not only woke up, but his mind was not the same. You see, for whatever reason, he had just developed a HORRIBLE, and I mean, a HORRIBLE, case of delirium. He was not at all in his normal state of mind, nor was he seeing things right. He saw spiders everywhere. He saw everything around him as spiders, and he would be seeing everyone around him as spiders as soon as someone showed up as well, no matter who it was. He also was feeling more fear of the spiders he saw than he had before with any spiders, and this was saying something indeed. Gray Wolf went: "Oh, God! Where am I? Spiders? Spiders everywhere! Help me! Where can I go?"

He looked to the exit of the cave, but it looked like the mouth of a huge spider just waiting to devour him. "Oh, no!" he screamed. But he ran in the other direction only to see hordes of spiders coming at him, so he ran for the mouth of the one looking to eat him and did his best to run through it. None of this was real, of course, but Gray Wolf's delirium made it seem otherwise indeed! He kept running and running, right up until he was outside the cave, and he kept running after that, seeing spiders in greater and greater swarms and clusters by the damn second. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" he howled as he didn't stop running. "GET THESE SPIDERS AWAY FROM ME!" He was as of this point headed for villages galore with the directions he was taking, but his delirious state blinded him to that very horribly indeed.

The next morning, the rest of the goodies awoke and they expected things to just be full breeze from here, now that Gray Wolf had seemingly been cured. But when they didn't see him there and started looking for him, they soon found paw prints. "What the hell?" Tiger exclaimed, becoming extremely tense as he realized something had happened to make his brother run off. "I don't know what happened to make him run off in the middle of the night like that, but it can't have been anything good. We have to find him before he hurts himself…or worse…" He froze at the thought of losing his brother again. "Oh, my God. Tiger's right." Pixie told the others. "We have to make a search team and split up fast, especially since he wouldn't just run off while the rest of us slept if he were in his right mind."

"Which means any number of things could be afflicting him right now!" Hare said. "My God, no sooner is he cured of his fear than does something else wrack his mind!" Suezo said. "Chi, it not fair for him , Chi!" Mocchi wailed. "But it'll be even less fair if he dies. So let's find him ASAP!" snapped Tiger at Mocchi, who did not even think of arguing. "Okay, let's go! If we find him in the next minutes, we can hope for the best!" Genki shouted. So they took off in all different directions, looking for Gray Wolf's whereabouts by any means necessary.

TO BE CONTINUED…

So, was that a frightening way to end this chapter and pave the way for the next one or what? Ratings and reviews, please, everybody!


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, it's time for the fourth chapter, which I know you've all been suspensed for, indeed! Gray Wolf's delirium, which has come from God only knows where, is ruining him and causing him to go on a rampage in the illusion that he's fighting for his life against spiders galore. And his fear has resurfaced in this way, and in the worst way, as such. His friends are on the lookout for him, there is much fear for him in their hearts, especially in Tiger's, and how does the doctor who supposedly cured his fear tie into all this? Let's see now in this next chapter of the fanfic.

With the exception of Tyrant-Ula, my newly made character who will be added to the story as its main villain now, I don't own any of the characters, for they are the property of Monster Rancher. Except for three others I use to set the trend, that is. Tarantulus from Beast Wars, Shelob from The Lord Of The Rings and Aragog from Harry Potter. They all belong to their own respective franchises.

Chapter 4-Antidote And Aftermath

The goodies had been looking everywhere for where Gray Wolf could possibly be. It had been a long, hard morning for them. They'd been able to cover more ground by splitting up, and Suezo had looked up into the air while Tiger had sniffed it, but no one, them or otherwise, had a drop of luck whatsoever. Even when Pixie flew about and looked down the area she'd be at, she couldn't find any trace of Gray Wolf, either.

As for poor Gray Wolf himself, he was having it worse than ever! Unintentionally having run into villages galore while seeing spiders of all kinds everywhere, he'd torn down so, so many things and bowled over so many people, thinking he was destroying the spiders he saw everyone and everything as. The villagers didn't know of his plight, however, and thought he was meaning to kill them all, thus making him a menace to the lot of them.

"We have to find that wolf and kill it now!" shouted a villager. "It's a monster and a disaster waiting to happen!" said the chief. "There will be no other way to deal with it!" This and so many similar things were being said of Gray Wolf by so many people in all of the villages, not a one of them the least bit aware it wasn't his fault, nor of what was causing him to do this.

In the meanwhile, Gray Wolf was not just seeing spiders all over the place even though in reality there were none, but while he shouted: "NO! GET BACK, YOU FILTHY THINGS! I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET ME! NOT LIKE WHEN I WAS A PUPPY! GET BACK! NOW!" He was using all his attacks to get rid of what he thought to be spiders of all kinds and doing everything he could do keep them away from him otherwise. It was almost literally hell for him. "HELP! KEEP THEM BACK! I WON'T BECOME A SPIDER'S MEAL!"

He suddenly saw Tarantulus from that show Beast Wars appear in front of him, going as he showed up: "Well, a tasty wolf for my next of prey! How delicious that will be! Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee. Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-HAHAHAHAHA!" "NO! DIE, MONSTER!" Gray Wolf shouted out, but then he saw that the shadow of Shelob, the spider queen from Lord Of The Rings, was behind him. "OH, NO! NOT YOU, BITCH!" "YES, ME!" shouted Shelob. "And you would be wise to speak to me much more considerately, since I am the queen who will be eating you now!"

"NEVER!" Gray Wolf yelled as he leapt on her. But then he saw Aragog from Harry Potter above him. "I do believe your flesh will taste quite succulent when I sink my fangs into it, provided you don't turn into a lost disk first." he told Gray Wolf. "Your fear will also taste fine." "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Gray Wolf yelled out, his heart pounding faster than it ever had in his life, and him roaring louder than he ever had in his life, as well.

He slashed at Aragog after leaping off of Shelob, but then Tarantulus jumped on him and said: "This is where you stop. Hee, hee, hee, hee, ha, ha, nyuck, nyuck, nyuck!" "WE FEED ON YOUR TERROR!" yelled many voices at once, and Gray Wolf saw spiders of the worst kind all dropping down around him and crawling towards him. He couldn't help himself, especially when under this delirium, and especially since plenty of webbing and cobwebs decorated what he saw as a cave full of spiders like these. He screamed in fright. He struggled as hard as he could but it was to no avail. He was trapped. "Now, which one of us gets first pickings?" asked Aragog.

"I'm the queen, so they go to me!" Shelob told him. "Especially when you consider I don't cower to half-giants, nor do I work under the command of an insane tyrant!" "I don't 'cower', bitch." Aragog told her. "And I was spying on Megatron, not working for him!" put in Tarantulus. "Further, I'm the only robot here and first pickings of this dog should thus go to me! Period!" "Fat chance, fat boy!" Aragog snapped at Tarantulus.

"And what about the rest of us?" asked a black widow amongst the many spiders who she was with. "We want some of that wolf, too, and we're not going to be denied it!" "None of us!" a Sydney Funnel Web added on. However, Gray Wolf, along with the rest of them, then saw nine very unusual looking spiders of freaky sorts in front of them, and one of them said: "This ends now!" and fired what looked to be a web line directly at Gray Wolf. It hit him in the neck, and he yowled out loud, but then everything went black, he felt the web be pulled out of his neck and at last he opened his eyes to a much different view…the one he'd had prior to all this.

"Huh? Where am I? What's going on?" Gray Wolf asked, but he soon saw the nine other goodies in front of him. "Tiger? Holly? Suezo? Mocchi? Hare? Big Blue? Golem? Genki? Pixie? What's going on here?" he asked, quite shaken and unable to move right now. Tiger ran on it to Gray Wolf and said, as the other goodies did the same: "Oh, brother. Thank God we were able to find and cure you. We thought we'd lose you forever." Gray Wolf and Tiger hugged one another and Pixie added: "Thankfully, Holly recalled that amulet device she'd found after we'd looked for you everywhere once we saw you were gone in the morning, couldn't find you and regrouped afterwards." "So we were able to make it so we found both where you were, what was happening to you, how to cure it and where to get that cure." "Thank God we had enough money to pay for it." Hare stated. "Otherwise, who knows what would have happened?"

"God, Hare, you use even the most dire, immediate situations as a chance to talk about money, don't you?" asked Tiger while not even bothering to look at Hare. Hare replied: "This from the wolf holding his brother close to him!" "HARE, QUIET." Big Blue told him. Hare just shut up after that, since Big Blue was so much bigger and more powerful than him and he knew better than to start a fight with Big Blue. "What happened to me, though?" Gray Wolf asked. "I go to sleep, thinking I'm cured of my fear, and next thing I know, I wake up and see that there are spiders everywhere, even ones much bigger and from different universes than the regular ones. Then I go around doing my best to destroy them all…then I suddenly feel this web hit my neck just as I'm tied down with webbing from the three biggest and worst…then I see you nine again and am so relieved to…" The realization hit him in the gut like a nightstick.

"OH, MY GOD…" Gray Wolf gaped. "That can only mean I woke up with some kind of delirium…started seeing everything as spiders…that web in my neck must have been some sort of cure you found…the one you mentioned…but that can only mean…the villages I must have just…and the injection was…" He broke down in shame. As well as in humiliation. He thought his fear was gone, but now it had turned out the medicine actually made things worse than ever instead of cure him. He started to cry, which was something very rare for him. Tiger held him close into his fur and said: "It's okay, brother. We will not rest until you've been cured. And you will not be held guilty of something you couldn't control."

"Indeed not. So don't despair." Pixie told Gray Wolf. "I'll spread the word about your innocence." "And we will go to the nearest village and explain everything." Holly told him. "As well as find the doctor who seemed to help you, but who was actually the cause of all of this." put in Genki. "Chi!" Mocchi added. "He must be quack, Chi!" "Well, we'll certainly give him a piece of our minds, that's for sure!" Suezo added. "But first thing's first…Golem know we must tell nearest village first while Pixie tells others…" Golem pointed out. "So there we go." Holly's words consisted of as she used her amulet to bring them via teleportation to that very village.

Once they were there, the villagers saw them immediately, and the chief went: "Eh? Who goes there?" "We are the goodies, and…" began Genki. "OH, MY GOD! IT'S HIM!" yelled one of the villagers, pointing to Gray Wolf. "It's the monster!" "NO!" Tiger shouted. "It wasn't his fault! He was under delirium!" "BULLSHIT!" shouted a villager. "You think we're going to buy that rubbish?" "Especially since his brother would be saying it?" asked a villager. "So, this Gray Wolf fellow was reformed from his baddy days?" another asked. "LIKE HELL!" "IT'S TRUE!" shouted Tiger. "Want proof? We can easily give you some!" Genki snapped.

"Really?" said the chief. "Fine, give us proof. We're all ears." "Don't think the other villages will be any easier, though." put in another villager. Genki then started to explain: "Gray Wolf here had thought himself to be cured of his fear of spiders. An injection which seemingly was meant to adjust to and eliminate any phobia was given to him by a supposed expert doctor." "But it didn't work out that way at all." Tiger told them. "It gave him horrible delirium mere hours after he was injected, and he woke up seeing spiders galore, some bigger and more horrid than others, by the way, literally everywhere. Everything and everyone looked like a spider to him." "And no doubt he was seeing himself in a cave full of webs from those same spiders." put in Suezo. "Chi!" Mocchi added.

"So, thinking he had to fight off all of these spiders, he went on a rampage, not knowing for a second he was under delirium." "We woke up the next morning to see him gone." Hare put in. "We formed a search party and split up, but when we couldn't find him, we rejoined and were fortunate to remember a special amulet Holly had which could literally do anything its owner so pleased." "So we used it to find out where Gray Wolf was, find out what had happened to him, find a way to cure him and the place to get that cure and finally to get to Gray Wolf and get him cured, like we did." "And, as evidenced from how he is now," Tiger said, putting his nose down to point to his brother, still held close to him, "Gray Wolf broke down in shame and shock once he realized what had actually happened. He clearly wasn't in his right mind. So he's still as you thought he was and we knew he was." "My master Pixie is currently spreading the word of his innocence to the other villages he unknowingly tore down." Big Blue added.

"Okay, fine, so he's innocent after all." sighed the chief after he and the other villagers realized this was the actual truth of the matter, despite what they initially thought. "Although we admit we owe Gray Wolf an apology, first thing's first. We'd appreciate that amulet you helped to find and cure him with to undo the damage he did while under that state of delirium, Holly." "No problem." Holly replied, and she used it to restore the village to what it had been before, plus she made it apply the same fixing to all the other villages, so that they'd be back to normal and Pixie would be believed when she told them everything. Afterwards, she said: "Gray Wolf? It's okay to show your face again. They've acknowledged what actually happened."

Gray Wolf heard this and slowly took his head out of Tiger's chest, saying: "Thank you for helping me, brother." He ignored the last two tears coming out of his lilac eyes. He was glad he was exonerated now, as well as how only one tear remained in each eye. He turned to the lot of people in front of him and said: "And I apologize for…the way I brought back the crazy old days…while under that delirious state…" "Your apology is accepted, and we should apologize for our ignorance, especially since it could have ended your life." the chief told him. "That does leave us with one other matter, however." Gray Wolf immediately knew what he meant, as did the others.

"Yes." Gray Wolf nodded. "Namely, THE QUACK WHO DID THIS TO ME!" "We will find him." Tiger said. "And believe me, he is going to get some serious questioning. We'll speak for both ourselves, you and all the other villages." Hare stated. "Good to know." the chief replied to him. "But you'll have to use that amulet to find him, for God only knows where he could be hiding right now." "Yeah, considering his crimes and what he knows we'll do to him when we at last find his ass." Big Blue agreed. So they bid the village farewell, thanked them for listening and understanding the truth and got going, and Gray Wolf's last two tears finally dried up. And they looked about with the amulet for where the doctor who caused this could be.

"Ah, so there he is!" Genki stated. "Hiding out in a clinic far from where he was last." "So typical of a coward like him." Suezo spat. "Hey, there's Pixie!" Golem said, pointing up to the sky. She was indeed there, flying down and landing among the others. "Hello there." Pixie said. "I'm back!" "Good to see you again, Pixie." Big Blue said. "So, you were able to let the other villages know the truth?" asked Tiger. "I sure was. Especially when all was restored to what it was around us. Good thinking on how you'd use that amulet, Holly." "Thanks." Holly said. "Believe me, I knew it was our best bet to clear the name of Gray Wolf here." "Thanks for spreading word of my innocence, by the way." Gray Wolf told Pixie. "Sure thing. We've had far too much of Moo's influence against our will as it is, and the last thing we need is people under the belief we're at it again, especially after what you went through" Pixie responded.

"By the way," Big Blue told her, "we've managed to locate the so-called expert doctor who broke open Gray Wolf's problem and made it twenty times worse." "You have?" asked Pixie. "I am glad to hear it. We will certainly be getting answers from him one way or the other." "And if I find out this was deliberate, I'll eat his guts." Gray Wolf snarled. "Now, now, let's not get too nasty." Holly said. "Chi," Mocchi said, "keep it in check, Chi." "We know how much he damaged you, but we can't have things like that even then." Genki said to him. "Anyway, we're all well aware where he is." Golem told them. "So let's go." Tiger snarled. "I'm not waiting for another second any more than my brother is." Holly got the amulet at the ready.

"Understood." Holly told them, and she teleported the gang to exactly the room where the doctor they sought was in on his coffee break. "Eh?" he said, just as he finished his cup of coffee and put it down. "Well, hello there, doc." Gray Wolf snarled. "We meet again. AND I'M REAL PISSED OFF." "What?" exclaimed the doctor. "We meet again? What do you mean? I've never seen any of you!" "Don't lie!" roared Tiger. "You know very well you purported to cure Gray Wolf here!" "But instead of curing me of my phobia, you made it worse a twenty fold! It led to me unknowingly tearing down villages, and if the damage hadn't been reversed by the amulet that brought us here while Pixie spread the word of the truth to the other villages our group did not explain the matter to, I'd no doubt be strapped to a table and awaiting a lethal injection!"

"And all because of the injection you gave him which you said was intended to cure his fear!" Pixie snapped. "And yet look what it turned out!" Suezo yelled. "We should have known way better!" Hare yelled. "Chi! You a quack, Chi!" Mocchi added. "I swear, I do not have a clue as to what any of you are talking about! What injection? Who are any of you, for that matter? I was in here for the past few days each time on the job, and I never injected the Gray Wolf you talk of! I think you have me confused for a different doctor!" "Only you look exactly like the one who injected Gray Wolf!" Big Blue boomed. "Golem agree. This is that doctor!" Golem said.

"So you start spouting answers, asshole!" Tiger growled. "Why the fuck did you do that to me?" Gray Wolf growled. "Who do you think you are?" They said this while Pixie held him up against the wall by his coat. "I'm telling you, you have me confused with someone else!" said the doctor. "Whether or not I may have an evil twin, I've never seen any of you people in my life at all, let alone given a treatment for whatever phobia there was to any of you!" "Wait…" Holly put in, using the amulet. "He's actually telling the truth. Apparently, according to this amulet, the one we thought cured Gray Wolf was someone else in disguise to look exactly like this doctor, and he is as much of an expert as he was said to be! We just never met him even though we had thought we met him." "Holy shit…" Suezo gaped. "Ah, you see? It was someone else apparently made to look like me so he'd be trusted after all!" the doctor told them. "Now will you please put me down and explain what this is all about?" "Fine, sorry." Pixie said, though her voice had no hint of being sorry as she placed the doctor down.

"Okay, so it wasn't you after all." Gray Wolf panted. "But that still leaves us with the question of who could have done it, and you knowing who we are." Tiger said. So they all told him who they were, what they did and why they were here, and once they had, the doctor told them: "All right, listen up. Although I would take quite long to make a cure for Gray Wolf's fear of spiders that would work for real, since there's much on my schedule right now, I can at the very least help you find out who was behind breaking open his problem and simultaneously framing me for it. What do you say?" "Sounds like a good idea." Genki told him, and Holly said: "First thing's first, though. We've got to make sure the villages we were at before know you got framed." So she used her amulet to do exactly that. "There, no charges will be put against you as of now." "My thanks." the doctor said. "Anyway, let's get started."

So they went and worked together to figure out what happened, what accounted for every happenstance and why this was. It took them quite a bit of time, even with the help of Holly's special amulet, but they eventually came to realize what exactly the cause of all of this was. As soon as they did, they all opened their eyes widely. "All right, so as it turns out," Hare said, "our culprit is both a shape-shifter, and, in fact, not human at all." "Far from human, or even from near all animals like me or Gray Wolf." Tiger stated. "Because as we're seeing here, he's not just a powerful, shape-shifting spider, he is in fact the king of a very evil spider colony down below."

"And one which makes it so that where normal spiders would frighten me and others who were arachnophobic, but still just be normal and do what spiders do regularly, these guys would constantly terrorize anyone and anything they could, and gain power, food and the like off of the death and suffering of their victims, often by deceit." Gray Wolf realized. "Sometimes their king does it himself, other times he has his subjects do it for him and there are times they all do it with one another together." Pixie observed. "In this case," the doctor nodded, "their king used his just mentioned shape-shifting powers to disguise himself as me and was able to find exactly the right village to find you so he could pretend to help Gray Wolf, but actually try and end his life in the worst way, also while destroying things for the lot of you."

"No doubt he picked us as his next random victims, and has many more planned for the future whether he succeeds with us or not." Big Blue pointed out. "Chi." Mocchi told. "We got to stop him fast, Chi." "And we will." Genki stated. "We will put a stop to him, and, chances are, we may even find a way to rid you of your fear along the way, Gray Wolf." "According to this amulet, we will, but the way in which it will happen isn't being shown." Holly said. "Oh, and what's this evil spider king's name, by the way?" asked Suezo. "Apparently," Hare said, "he's going by the name of Tyrant-Ula." "Pretty fitting for a giant, repulsive, hairy tyrant spider like him." Gray Wolf commented, sticking out his tongue in disgust. "The sooner we shut his web-spinning ass down, the better." "I would suggest you move, then." the doctor told them. "God only knows where he will strike next." "Indeed. Let's go!" Genki shouted.

"Thanks, by the way." Tiger told the doctor. "I speak for all of us when I say that." "And we're sorry we misjudged you." Gray Wolf added. "Also spoken for all of us when said. "You're welcome, and apology accepted." the doctor told them. "Good luck on putting an end to Tyrant-Ula, by the way." "Our thanks." Golem replied. "And believe me, we'll see to it he gets what-for or die trying!" Suezo stated. "Chi! Payback time, Chi!" Mocchi said. So they left the building in the next moment and got going on the lookout for Tyrant-Ula, who had now been confirmed as a brand new enemy, though whether he was a new baddy of any kind or not would have to get found out. Which it would in due time, but for now, they just wanted to return to their cave and make it so that they rested up and got ready for how they would take him down now that all was found out, all loose ends were tied up and the way was paved for a brand new stage now.

Meanwhile, in his underground tunnel, Tyrant-Ula was being approached by several of his sinister spider subjects, who he asked: "So, how did our plan go once I put it into action?" "We looked all about, sire." said a brown recluse spider. "And?" asked Tyrant-Ula. "We would discover, to our dismay, that not only did the plan fail miserably, but the ones we target have found out about you with the help of the very doctor you meant to frame. Needless to say, they're now looking to take us out." "HMMMM, this won't do at all." Tyrant-Ula replied. "We are going to have to put a change in how we do this in order to both take them down, and do so in a way that will give us full satisfaction in terms of their fright, our feasting and how it paves the way for our next of prey quarry. Thankfully, I have thought up just such a way, so we will get it arranged, wait for the first sign they are vulnerable and get things going from there."

"Understood, your majesty." a black widow told him. "I am glad to hear we will still win even when we seem to lose." "Indeed." Tyrant-Ula told them. "And I take it we will make sure these goodies suffer what we have a ten-fold at this point?" asked a trapdoor spider. "Of course." Tyrant-Ula replied. Evil laughter from the spiders in this tunnel then spread out everywhere.

TO BE CONTINUED…

All right, so how did you like this one? Ratings and reviews please!


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, it's time for the fifth chapter to commence! We have been introduced to Tyrant-Ula and gotten to know that he is part of all this, targeting Gray Wolf and all the other goodies as his next victims in a line of so many from before, and just as many intended as targets after. The plot does indeed thicken, but wait till you find out the shocker at the end of this chapter which will be more than sufficient to knock your socks off! The sinister plan of Tyrant-Ula and his minions is put into a whole new phase now, and the goodies have a whole new problem on their hands!

Except for Tyrant-Ula, I own none of the characters. They belong to Monster Rancher.

Chapter 5-A Tyrant's Terror

At the cave the goodies resided in now, they had just finished brunch(it took them that long to get back after finishing up the more immediate matters and thus they'd had no breakfast), and were in deep discussion about a whole lot. It was all connecting to their new objective, the subduing of Tyrant-Ula. They'd talked of a great deal, and finally had come up with the perfect way to attack and do in both the monster villain spider in question and his terrible troops.

"Okay, so we've gotten the facts straight and organized the plan to take Tyrant-Ula down here." Genki told the others. "Yes, and any time to do it would be a good time for me." stated an eager to end his fear once and for all Gray Wolf. "Keep it cool, brother." Tiger told him. "I'd not mind getting rid of the bastard, either, but we have to keep it together until the time is right." An instant later, Gray Wolf nodded and Hare said: "So we know he's the one who's been plaguing us and we know he's the one who replaced the medicine meant to end Gray Wolf's fear with that horrible poison which gave him delirium, plus we know all the other crap he pulled."

"That," Pixie added, "and that he either has the real medicine meant to help Gray Wolf, or for whatever crazy reason, his downfall will be key to conquering the arachnophobia." "So what we need to do both to cure Gray Wolf of his fear and to put a stop to Tyrant-Ula before he can become the next Moo is to find him and put his spinneret-sporting ass out of commission. It won't be easy, however." Big Blue pointed out. "But it has to be done for two very crucial, vital and important reasons." Holly put in. "And it will be." Suezo said. "Chi!" Mocchi added on.

"First thing's first, though, we have to find out where Tyrant-Ula currently is, what he's up to and what his next move will be." Tiger spoke. "We lose track of him once, and we'll most likely all become his next meal." Gray Wolf cringed at the thought of dying again, and this time by his blood being drained out by a monster who was the embodiment of every reason why his fear and dislike of spiders was existent. But he kept cool and made sure his courage remained.

"Tiger is quite correct." Golem said. "We must plan ahead meticulously." "Which we will." Genki stated. "So here's how this works. Holly, you still have that amulet thing with you, right?" "Of course. I think we'll be needing it now more than ever." Holly responded. "We sure will." Genki replied. "We need to find out whether or not Tyrant-Ula is still where he was, or if he's gone somewhere else. Also, we must know about whether or not his troops are with him or have been sent to spread more terror and cover more ground." "Reveal coming right up." Holly's reply consisted of. Gray Wolf did not want to think about how hard it would be to deal with such a thing as coming across so many spiders and especially if they were with their king. The thought of it alone tied his guts in a knot and made him feel like puking them up.

He ignored his fright, though, and looked along with the others as Holly was able to find out where Tyrant-Ula and his other evil spiders were and what they were doing. "For whatever reason, Tyrant-Ula and his spider minions, drones and cronies are still in their tunnel home, and have actually gotten ready for us in one way or another. They've yet to resurface to the outside world, but we can't take any chances. So we must go and take them on now, but be ready for any and all traps they may have set up for us in that tunnel while looking for them. Further, we need to get ready for anything they may be packing to try and snare and devour us."

"All right, if there was ever an opportune time to try and stop this before it gets any worse, it's now. So, are we getting going or what?" asked Genki. "We sure are." Tiger said. "I can't wait to sink my claws into that bastard Tyrant-Ula." "Neither can I." Gray Wolf said, as he thought: "Especially since this will both put a stop to their evil and end my fear at long last." "I think I speak for all of us, even those who dislike fighting, when I say I'm ready to go." Pixie put in. "Okay, let's move it, people. We don't want to keep Tyrant-Ula waiting and increase such as the chances he'll attack the surface world out of boredom." Genki spoke.

So the lot of them took off from the cave and followed Holly's amulet-created guidance to the area of the ground that led to the tunnel of Tyrant-Ula. All the while, Gray Wolf was but of course doing his best to ignore how much his fear and frightened feelings about entering a spider tunnel was building up inside of him, though it was easy task. Eventually, they got to the part of the ground which was undoubtedly where the beginning of the tunnel which led down to the lair of Tyrant-Ula was. They stopped once the amulet signaled such a fact.

"Okay, I think we're here." Holly said. "Wait, however." Pixie pointed out. "Tyrant-Ula and all of his assholes are waiting for us and expecting us to arrive. That means this could very well be a trap to make us fall into their webs to be snared and turned into their next meals. We'll need to check first." "Good point." Holly told Pixie. "I'll do it." Tiger said, going over and then picking up a rock with his teeth. He tossed it with his mouth onto the area that looked to be the covered entrance of their tunnel, and sure enough, it immediately opened up and all the grasses covering it fell into the hole.

"Good thinking, Pixie!" exclaimed Genki. "We would have been spider food if not for your precautions." "Chi!" Mocchi said. "Thanks for that lifesaver, Chi!" "All right, so we're for sure going to need to find another way around." Golem said. "And that means a different kind of entrance." Hare said. "OOOOOOH, I really am not liking the sound of this." Gray Wolf said. "I must go through with this, but still…I don't want to think about what our alternative entrance is gonna need to be." "AAAAAAAAW, poor puppy…" Hare smiled.

"OOOOOWWWWWWOOOOOO!" Hare yelled in the next second as Gray Wolf bit his ass good and hard. "You never learn, do you, Hare?" asked Suezo. "Oh, shut up!" Hare said irritably as he rubbed his ass once Gray Wolf let go of it. "Anyhow, I do believe we want to find that other way so we can enter but not get caught." Holly said. "And thankfully, this amulet has a way in just like that!" "Okay, what way in is it?" asked Genki. Holly replied: "We go up that hill, and through that seemingly small cave, and the tunnel to where we should enter will be there as a part of it and lead us to the proper location to find Tyrant-Ula and his troops."

"Good to know." Tiger said. "By the way, are you sure you don't just wanna wait out here while we deal with things, Gray Wolf?" asked Suezo. "There's gonna be a lot of spiders in here, and aggressive, deadly ones, at that." "No way." Gray Wolf replied. "I have to overcome my fucking fear, and I will never get a better chance than this. Further, not helping take down evil like this simply because you're afraid of what contains it is a coward's answer. And I'm no more of a coward than my brother." "With the exception he doesn't fear spiders like you do!" a snide remark from Hare consisted of.

"SHUT IT, HARE!" roared Tiger as he leapt onto him and made him hit the ground hard. He then leapt back and Hare got up, winded and humiliated. "Like Suezo said, you never learn." Genki told Hare. "Anyway, we need to move it fast. Tyrant-Ula won't wait forever." Pixie told them. "So we go." Golem spoke. Everyone went up the hill and one by one entered their way in the tunnel/cave, with eventually everyone dropping down onto the ground of what they knew at this point was a region of the tunnel lair of Tyrant-Ula.

"So we're in here now." Big Blue observed. "Chi, it creepy, Chi!" Mocchi said. Gray Wolf overlooked how much he was trembling on the inside as he saw spiders galore crawling about as well as many rotting exoskeletons of dead spiders. "By the way, I can smell some of the troops and traps of Tyrant-Ula." Tiger told them. "He must either have thought we'd be here by now, or know we're here." "Either way, we need to make it through to him and watch our damn backs." Genki put in. "Let's go, but slowly and cautiously."

They did so, but suddenly they heard the voice of Tyrant-Ula say: "Welcome to my lair, goodies. I see you made it into a part of it so that trap I set for you to fall into our webs wouldn't do what I meant it to. A shame, but no matter. Your single moment of cleverness will not be able to stop all of my spider cronies and my countless other traps from doing you in. And when you all have been done in, tonight we will feast. Both on your flesh and your blood, which we truly hunger for." "Dream on, Tyrant-Ula!" Pixie shouted.

"We'll find you and we'll take you out!" Tiger roared. "Right after we do the same to all of your slimy little soldiers, that is!" Genki added on. "Big words, but I'm not impressed, nor do I believe any of that bullshit in the least bit." the voice of Tyrant-Ula replied. "I can see where all of you are at all times, and I can easily transmit my voice through the whole of this lair. There's not a single area you can go to that won't be literally crawling with my minions."

"Then we will face them!" Gray Wolf snarled. "And then we will face you after we've gotten through all of them!" He did his best to keep his courage up, but being in any tunnel of spiders, let alone one where the worst spider of his nightmares was ruling, made it hard not to tremble on the inside and be turning slightly white. He did as much as he could to keep it under control and ignore it, but it wasn't easy. Thankfully, it was at least enough so he could keep on going with the other goodies through these tunnels. And Tyrant-Ula replied: "Suit yourself. I'd warn you, however. No victim has ever left my tunnels alive before. And my drones play rough."

"So do we!" Holly shouted. "Let's go!" Genki went, and they moved forward, making sure not to take their eyes off of the spiders even once. They got ready for any moves they'd have to make, when suddenly they saw hordes of black widows coming towards them. "Oh, my God. Black widows…" Gray Wolf gasped, trying not to lose it. "Black widows, indeed." the top head honcho of this group said. "We're here to take you out, poison you fatally and bring you to our master for a magnificent meal tonight." "This will be just the start of our new terror mission and our eventual conquest that comes from it." his second in command added.

But Tiger showed how much he begged to differ on that statement. "Like hell, spiders! TORPEDO ATTACK!" Tiger yelled, and the lightning hit the first line of black widows. Gray Wolf did much the same and in the next instant they were using their ice breath as well. Pixie also flew about and blasted them with various projectile attacks. Sure enough, there were much fewer of the black widows, though still a lot, and one said: "Holy shit! I had no idea we were facing such a tough force this time!" "We can still win, however!" another stated. "ON THEM! LIKE RED ON BLOOD!" shouted their leader.

Gray Wolf could not believe it. He was actually facing his worst fear and starting to show hope of winning. However, when he saw several black widows coming right for him and all the others, he virtually pissed and shitted with fright. "NO…" he gaped. "Oh, lord! They're trying the fast, frontal approach!" yelled Pixie. "Tornado attack!" Golem said, and he did his tornado attack on them while Big Blue clapped his hands to crush flat as many as possible. Mocchi said: "Blossom cherry blizzard!" and unloaded that onto the spiders, while Hare yelled out: "Dragon punch!" and smashed quite a few to pieces. Gray Wolf, in the meanwhile, regained his courage and it was just in time for him to leap back and dodge the spiders jumping for him.

"Dammit! He dodged us!" yelled a black widow. "Yeah, and now I do you in!" let loose Gray Wolf. He unleashed a wind attack at them and literally blew them to pieces. He saw a second later that Tiger was doing much the same. There had been nothing quite so frightening as seeing so many black widows leap right for him, but Gray Wolf has overcome that and felt like he could conquer his fear for real this time. "Wanna try that with me again?" he asked the other black widows who hadn't jumped at him or any of the other goodies yet while Suezo hit those still jumping at them with his tail attack repeatedly and Holly used the amulet to repel them.

"Is that a challenge or what?" asked one black widow as the lot of them crawled at Gray Wolf. "Okay, steady now…" thought Gray Wolf. "Blast them with everything you have all while keeping your distance…" He unloaded all his long range attacks on them and managed to take all of them out, while the others were either knocked back or destroyed by all the other goodies, this time with Golem stepping on them, Hare using his dragon kicks and Tiger zooming in to slice at them and bite them dead. Genki also skated around and tossed them against the walls with force enough to break them to bits, and he did so speedily and almost tirelessly.

"We're doing it!" Genki shouted. "We're winning!" "We've got to retreat! They're too strong!" cried out one black widow. "But we can't! Tyrant-Ula will have our heads!" said one of the others. "Like they won't if we don't scram?" asked a third one. But Gray Wolf roared: "Who the hell said anything about retreating? You abominations are history!" He ran in, forgetting his fear, and slashed, bit and stabbed the rest of the black widows dead, though the feeling of them in his mouth when he bit them dead was anything but easy to endure for obvious reasons. Soon enough, they were all dead, and Tiger said: "My God, Gray Wolf…look what you did."

"Wow…I never would have guessed even he could do that…especially with his fear…" put in Hare. "But were we wrong or what?" Holly asked. "Chi!" Mocchi added. "Congrats to Gray Wolf, Chi!" "Congrats, indeed. Golem agree." Golem said. "Wow. I guess I did pull that feat off, didn't I?" Gray Wolf asked. "Man, I'll overcome my fear yet…" "WATCH OUT!" Pixie yelled, and they all turned to see she was referring to a great many brown recluse spiders crawling about the walls and they jumped back, especially Gray Wolf, since he didn't count on this due to being caught up in what seemed like a step in the direction of no longer having his arachnophobia. Pixie flew up and unleashed her forest wrecking projectile attack at the lot of the brown recluse spiders, blowing them all to hell.

"Phew. That was too close for comfort." Gray Wolf sighed. "To think they would have taken us from behind, the cowards!" growled Tiger. "Well, they are brown recluse spiders. They tend to be shy and timid, so that shouldn't be a surprise." Hare said. "Whatever, I'm just glad we got to see Pixie smoke them." Tiger panted. "Just like the rest of us are." Suezo said. "Chi!" put in Mocchi. "They gone now, Chi." "But not all of my spider troops are gone." said a very, very, very unmistakable voice. "Tyrant-Ula!" exclaimed Golem. "What do you have in store for us next, you bastard of a tyrant?" Genki snapped.

"Whatever it is, we'll do to that just what I just did to those brown recluse hellspawns of yours!" Pixie warned him. "Oh, no you won't. For those black widows and brown recluse spiders were only my welcoming committee." Tyrant-Ula's voice replied. "This is where we go to a new level, and a whole new one, at that. You seem to be quite a helpful aspect of this group with such attacks as the one you used to kill the brown recluse bunch I sent to kill you from behind, Pixie." Tyrant-Ula told her. "Therefore, I can't have you helping them anymore."

Suddenly, a hole opened in the ground, and Pixie's foot was grabbed by a trapdoor spider very quickly. This was a big trapdoor spider, and it pulled her down, going: "You should be quite a tasty little morsel, what with your good looks and everything, bitch!" "WHOOOOOOOAAA!" screamed Pixie as she was pulled down. "Go on! I can get myself out of this!" she yelled to the others as she disappeared from sight. "Oh, God. PIXIE!" Gray Wolf exclaimed, starting to get a little scared after seeing this done by a giant trapdoor spider of all things, and so suddenly, too. "I think she said she can get herself out of it!" Tiger shouted. "No! We have to save my master!" an angry cry from Big Blue consisted of. "There's no time! If we try to, we'll get captured too, and it will ensure she dies along with the rest of us and Tyrant-Ula will be able to do as he pleases!" Genki cried. "I don't like having to leave her behind, but she's found her way out before and she will do so this time! In the meanwhile, we have to keep going to stop Tyrant-Ula!"

"Fine, but if she turns out to have died, I will never forgive anyone here, myself included. Understand?" Big Blue said. "We do." Golem replied. "Now let's go!" Genki shouted. They ran across the tunnel and soon found a chamber to the next tunnel, which they realized could lead to a way to find something beneficial, or could lead to a death trap. "Okay, we have got to see what our best bet would be here!" Holly said. "This could be death's door, or it could be a way out of here and into an area that could hold the key to the downfall of Tyrant-Ula!" "Yes," Golem said, "but how can we…" He suddenly was snared by several webs, which wrapped him up and made it so he was immobilized. "NOOOOO! Golem is trapped! Go on before you get trapped!"

"But Golem…" shouted Holly. "GOLEM WILL SURVIVE!" Golem shouted, which he rarely did. "But you can't risk it! Go!" "We have to listen to him." Tiger sighed. They realized it and took off, with Golem seeing that several tarantulas were suddenly crawling on him, though he did not let it frighten him despite being essentially helpless. "All right, that's two we've just lost!" Big Blue cried. "I'm not liking the looks of this at all!" "Neither am I, but we can't just give up! That'll make it so Tyrant-Ula wins for sure!" Genki reminded.

Gray Wolf thought: "My God, am I being tested for how long my courage can stay with me before I break under all this fear from these spiders or what? I can't let that mar my tenure. I have to get over it and keep fighting, no matter how horrible or scary it gets for me!" "Look!" he shouted out loud when he saw a giant Sydney funnel web spider coming for them. "Enemy alert, everyone!" "Good sighting, Gray Wolf!" Tiger said. "Wish I could say it was out of something aside from shock and sudden fright…" thought Gray Wolf to himself, embarrassed. Genki did a leap at the giant killer spider, kicking it in the face with both feet.

"So, thought you'd make a meal of us, did you?" asked Genki. "Well, not if I have any say in the matter!" He then punched him repeatedly, but the spider hit him with one of its legs and said: "You're tough, boy, I'll give you that. But me, I'm invincible." Genki went: "UUHH!" and hit the ground hard, then he got wrapped up in webbing. "NO!" Tiger yelled. "TORPEDO ATTACK!" He blasted the spider with his lightning, and Gray Wolf did the same to aid him, but the spider sprayed webbing into his eyes and that of everyone else, then made off with Genki.

Once the others got the webbing off of their eyes, they realized Genki had disappeared. "Oh, no! Genki!" Holly exclaimed. "He's gone, Chi! NO!" Mocchi cried. When Tiger heard "Genki" and "gone" in the same sentence, he tensed up. But then he undid that, realizing this was no time to panic. "We have to find him!" Gray Wolf said. "Yes, but we also have to find where the hell Tyrant-Ula could be!" Tiger told them. "And save Genki, Chi!" Mocchi wailed. But just then, the voice of Tyrant-Ula told them: "Well, what do you know? The group's down to seven out of the ten it once was already. But I'm getting a little tired of picking you off one by one."

"Tyrant-Ula?" exclaimed Holly. "If you've hurt any of our friends, especially Genki, we'll dethrone you in the worst way imaginable!" "Chi!" Mocchi yelled out. "And that's not a threat, that's a promise!" added Tiger. "You can be sure of that, motherfucker!" Gray Wolf put in as a bark. "Please. Do you really think I care a whit about your petty threats and empty talk?" asked Tyrant-Ula. "I'm just going to switch to having all my spider drones capture you at once, with the exception of you, Gray Wolf, since I've got something special in mind for you, my little arachnophobic foe."

Just then, Holly saw webbing fly onto her arm and went: "What? UGGGHH! Gross! Get it off me!" But she was snared by more webbing, and then Hare was grabbed from behind by an enormous orb spider. "HEY! GET OFF OF ME!" Hare cried, but he was subdued and pulled in by the spider, just like Holly was pulled into a tunnel. After that, Big Blue was pounced on by gigantic weaver spiders, the leader of them going: "Here's a big one! He'll contribute well to the much needed roughage in our diet!" "PIXIE! I'M SORRY! I'VE FAILED YOU!" Big Blue let out. Suezo and Mocchi suddenly got pinned to the wall by fired webbing, then two huge-ass bird eater spiders came crawling towards them.

"A bird and some wacko thing. How lucky can you get?" asked one. The other said: "Don't I know it? I think the fact they're bite sized makes it all the more fun! ""You back off right now!" Suezo shouted. "Chi, get away, Chi!" yowled Mocchi. Finally, Tiger was hit by lots of weblines and wrapped up so he couldn't move. "WHAT THE HELL?" he exclaimed. "GET THIS CRAP OFF ME!" But then several wolf spiders landed on him and their leader went: "So, a real wolf eaten by his spider counterparts! How about that?" "RUN, BROTHER! IT'S UP TO YOU NOW!" Tiger howled. "YOU'RE OUR ONLY HOPE OF SURVIVAL OR OF TAKING DOWN TYRANT-ULA!"

Gray Wolf, as terrified as he was after seeing all this and all these nasty spiders, realized the severity of this situation. Still, he protested: "But I can't leave any of you behind to die! Especially you, brother! There must be some other way!" "There isn't!" Tiger shouted. "We may be killed, but you have to risk it! It's either that or fully ensuring victory and continuing evil reign for Tyrant-Ula!" Understanding these deadly words, the ability to cope with his fear skyrocketed in Gray Wolf, at least for the time being. He gave a quick lick to Tiger, just in case this was the last he'd see of his brother, and took off.

Unfortunately, this was just what Tyrant-Ula wanted. As Gray Wolf took off to try and find a way to locate Tyrant-Ula, destroy his troops and save his friends, he heard the voice of the evil spider king of a monster tarantula say: "Ah, ah, ah! I told you that I only didn't have my tons of troops capture you because I had something special in mind for you, Gray Wolf, due to your fear of my kind!"

"Stick it up your spinneret region, Tyrant-Ula!" Gray Wolf barked. "I really couldn't give less of a shit how terrified I am of you and any other spiders right now, because I only want to save my friends, my brother, and take you and all the other slimy atrocities in here down for the count!" "Not wise to insult me like that." Tyrant-Ula. "Given I am the ruler here and was already planning this for you as the special way to die even before that remark."

Gray Wolf suddenly realized he had just run through two doors, and they slammed right behind him. Tightly and loudly. And they locked after that. "You will now pay the penalty that anyone pays for invading on and/or insulting the king." Tyrant-Ula's voice said. "Both of which you have done. It is time for you to die like the dog that you are, but they way you die will be not from physical force, but from emotional torture."

It was incredibly dark in the area and Gray Wolf sniffed about for any signs of anything he could find, because right now, he'd be lucky to even know where he was. But soon, he picked up the scent of big, killer, monster spiders, and he also saw several flashback images of horrible memories of his life, spider related or otherwise, and up to and including his time as a baddy for Moo, who made him one against his will, plus his temporary death, form in front of him. Not only this, but the scents he'd picked up were of several big spiders of various species crawling all around the floors, the walls and the ceiling. And he saw them as much bigger and scarier than any of them actually were due to a special mist in the place which created hallucinations.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Gray Wolf screamed. "AAAAAAAA! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" He was more terrified by spiders now than he had ever been in the past few days, which was quite a statement. And the other flashback memories, along with several loud, blaring noises and weapons flying at him and narrowly missing him, did not help matters at all. He was helpless with fear and unable to go anywhere, and once Tyrant-Ula said: "Farewell, Gray Wolf. How ironic a brave wolf like you would meet his end with such a thing as a heart attack from fear, which means he would die of fright." it was clear he had made it so he locked Gray Wolf in here deliberately.

Locked him in here deliberately so his fear of spiders would combine with his worst of memories being resurrected, and his knowledge that his friends all had their lives on the line, his brother included, along with the numerous weapons and real killer spiders in the area. IT HAD BEEN DONE WITH THE INTENT OF DRIVING HIM INSANE, AND THEN MAKING IT SO HE EVENTUALLY WOULD BE KILLED FROM HIS BEING BOTH SCARED, BADLY CONFUSED AND BESERK ALL AT THE SAME DAMN TIME! SO UTTERLY FIENDISH!

TO BE CONTINUED…

So, what did you think? And of the end of the chapter in particular? Pretty scary and gripping, huh? And quite a cliffhanger, too! Ratings and reviews, please!


	6. Chapter 6

Okay, I'm back again, and guess what time it is? That's right! It's Chapter 6 time! This is the climactic chapter, although not the concluding one. That will be the seventh and final chapter, which follows this one. Anyhow, where we last left off, all the goodies but Gray Wolf were captured by Tyrant-Ula's troops, and Gray Wolf was trapped in a place filled with all of his worst memories and fears, including spiders galore. With no way out. What a suspenseful way to have left this story last chapter! But now we see where it leads to and the climax of this tale! Enjoy!

I own no characters except for Tyrant-Ula. All others belong to Monster Rancher!

Chapter 6-Climactic Carnage Confrontation

Gray Wolf could not fucking believe this at all. It was his worst nightmare made real. Here he was, utterly trapped and unable to do anything. All while all of his worst memories flashed in front of him and so did the one thing he feared most…spiders. They crawled all about rapidly, and the hallucination gas was making it all seem even more horrible than it already was, which was quite a statement.

Needless to say, Gray Wolf had never felt this helpless or frightened in his life. Not even the past few days. He realized he could do nothing but scream. "HEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPP!" Gray Wolf screamed out in terror. "MAKE IT STOP! PUT AN END TO IT! PLEASE!" He was fully unable to help himself. He'd been ignoring his fear up to this point, but now that he was trapped and could do nothing about it, plus he'd been suppressing his phobia for so long, he was not at all able to make it last another second, and all he'd been containing broke open and overtook his mind and spirit.

And things only got worse. Because suddenly the gases cleared and the hallucinations went away along with the envisioning of his worst memories…only for Gray Wolf to have no time to take a deep breath from the sudden release before he saw countless spiders right in front of him on the floor and around him on the walls, not to mention above him on the ceilings. And they were all too real. No denying it at all.

"OH, GOD…" Gray Wolf gaped, going extremely white. He wanted to find some way to get back his usual courage, but it was proving impossible. To his further fear and embarrassment, but mostly the former, he felt like a puppy again. Like the little puppy he once was who had the great misfortune to have that spider crawl onto his face and spark his arachnophobia. And now it was all coming back in spades.

A bunch of wolf spiders leapt onto him along with a bunch of jumping spiders, and his heart rate increased by an amazing order of magnitude. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he screamed in an immense amount of fright. But this was far from all these spiders, who he could tell were without a doubt ordered by Tyrant-Ula to finish him after a while of terror torture, had in store for him. A lot of tarantulas and funnel web spiders crawled up around his feet and then up his legs and tail. Gray Wolf howled in fear and ran about, shaking his body and slamming against the walls to try and get these spiders off of him and/or crush them flat.

Only a few came off or got crushed, though, and Gray Wolf then was seeing more spiders, this time funnel web ones and black widows, along with brown recluses and orb spiders, crawl all along the corners of the walls before dropping their webs down onto his back and into his mane.

"E-RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Gray Wolf shouted and his heart was pounding faster than ever, the fear burning through his body like a long, hot, iron crowbar. And also cutting through it like a hot knife through butter. "NO! This isn't happening!" thought Gray Wolf. "My friends need me! So does my damn brother! I can't break down in fear! I just can't!"

But all of the spiders attacking the poor wolf yelled in unison: "YOU CAN AND YOU WILL, PUPPY DOG!" Gray Wolf realized they had read his mind. But he had little time to think as to how the hell that was possible, because dozens of spiders of various sizes and colors now shot webbing at him and wrapped him up with it so that he was standing on all fours but tied down to the ground.

He yowled like a newborn wolf. He couldn't help it. He was alarmed he hadn't just plain outright died of fright already, he was so frightened. And it only got worse for him as he was crawled all over his face, including his eyes and horns, by several little, medium sized and big spiders, the big ones mostly being bird eaters.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Gray Wolf screeched, and the spiders kept on crawling all over him. Although he managed to muster up just enough courage to slash free of the webbing, his attempts to run about and find some way to defend himself were derailed when many more spiders dropped down and jumped across at him and the force of such an attack made it so he fell over onto the floor. The spiders then began swarming more than ever all over Gray Wolf, who was now paralyzed with fear.

He thought to himself as they kept on crawling about and sinisterly laughing: "Dear God…this can't be it! I can't die like this! Not as a coward! Not as a failure! Not as someone who couldn't save the brother and comrades who counted on him! But I'm so terrified! I'm being covered with more spiders than I've ever seen in my life or any of my nightmares! I can't get them off! Why must I be put in this position?"

He couldn't talk, he was so frightened. He couldn't move, he was so terrified. He couldn't think straight any further than what you just read, he was so petrified. He was also barely at all capable of being seen under so many spiders. Gray Wolf was slashed and afflicted with a horrible ache of emotional pain at the thought of his friends dying because he succumbed to his longtime fear. He couldn't even bear to think what Tiger would think of him now. And the fact he was trembling all over with every hair abristle and shaking more than a seismic disaster certainly did not help. His eyes were opened wide and looked just as scared as he was in reality.

"Why me?" Gray Wolf thought. "Why is it I had to suffer such a fate? And with my brother and friends suffering just as bad or worse a fate, no less? Why them? Why Tiger, especially? Why any of us? DAMN YOU, GRAY WOLF! ARE YOU SO MUCH OF A COWARD YOU CAN'T DO SHIT ABOUT YOUR FEAR WHILE YOUR FRIENDS GET KILLED, AND AFTER ALL THEY DID FOR YOU?" But then more fear than ever overlapped his emotions, if that was possible by now.

Suddenly, however, something inside of Gray Wolf changed. His previously frightened eyes suddenly closed and then opened widely, looking far more cool, determined, brave and like his true self. His care for his brother and his friends, and his knowledge they needed him, plus, of course, Tyrant-Ula needed to be stopped, was suddenly realized by him as being stronger than his fear. His determination was, as well, as was his bravery and spirit.

Why it took so long to see this for the reality it was, he didn't know, but that didn't matter to him right now, because there were far more immediate things at stake. He stood up furiously and roared: "GET THE FUCK OFF ME, YOU PUNY BASTARDS!"

"WHAT THE HELL?" exclaimed a black widow, who was as flabbergasted as all of the other countless spiders who Gray Wolf was now shaking off of himself and also destroying with every single attack, power, skill and move that he possessed. Although his heart was pounding almost as fast as it had been before, this time it was with vigor, bloodlust and determination.

"I WILL TELL YOU WHAT THE HELL!" Gray Wolf yelled. "WHAT IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT SURPASS HOW AFRAID OF SPIDERS LIKE YOU I AM? WHAT IF MY NEED TO HELP MY BROTHER AND FRIENDS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOW MUCH YOU FUCKING SCARE ME? WHAT IF I FACE YOU LIKE ANYONE ELSE FACES HIS OR HER FEARS AND WIN WITH MY SUPERIOR-ASS ABILITIES? DIE, MONSTERS!"

He went berserk and by the time he was done unloading everything he had everyone, all of the countless spiders lay dead, the webs were burned to a crisp and the area he'd been in was all but torn to the goddamn ground. Gray Wolf realized he'd won and howled: "YEAH! I DID IT! I'M VICTORIOUS! SUCK THAT, SPIDER SCUM!"

After this, he caught his breath and thought: "That's it for this part of my objective, but now it's time for the next two and most important parts. One, save my friends and my brother…I PRAY TO GOD I'M NOT TOO LATE…and two, most predictably…" He snarled this last part out loud while bearing his teeth and making his eyes become very, very, very angry, aggressive, merciless and bloodthirsty in appearance, clearly putting on his fearless, feral face. "…DESTROY TYRANT-ULA."

So he took off from where he was and used his super-sharp senses to track Tyrant-Ula to where he was in his kingdom region of the lair he ruled. Let's take a look at that central area of the region in question. Tyrant-Ula was currently on his throne, with several subjects surrounding him and the nine goodies who he had captured laid down right in front of him and tied down to the floors in webbing.

Yep, the ones who captured them brought them to him and he had them tied down with webbing side by side. He was most pleased at this…he would enjoy gloating to them and as such crushing their hopes and dreams before having them eaten and drained of blood both by him and his subjects, including the ones who'd captured them, many of which flanked his throne.

"So, you nine, you finally enter your final moments of life." Tyrant-Ula stated. "You'll never get away with this, Tyrant-Ula." Pixie told him. "Oh, but I'm getting away with it as we speak, bitch." Tyrant-Ula replied proudly. "Your brother, Tiger of the Wind, is currently trapped in a special corridor of mine, being literally scared to death, as well as driven to death as he is being driven mad not only by his fear of spiders like me, but by his worst of memories, including his baddy days." "NO!" Tiger shouted. "Yes." Tyrant-Ula replied. "It is happening as we speak. I think it will only be a matter of time before he becomes petrified enough to perish."

"You are lying!" roared Tiger. "One way or the other, we'll pull through and put a stop to you and all you vile spider slaves!" Genki shouted. "Chi! You'll fall, Chi!" "Empty words from a myriad of equally empty minds!" Tyrant-Ula retorted. "Now, my subjects, since you did such an amazingly fine job of capturing this bunch while I dealt with our easiest target, I shall allow you to choose what order we feast on their flesh and binge on their blood in." "We'll not give in even now!" Big Blue shouted. "Golem second that!" Golem added. Despite how uneasy she was, there was still a sentence from Holly of: "We will resist you as much as possible, and even if we are in the end killed, we'll at least have died as real goodies!"

"Very brave words, and very fitting for famous last words!" Tyrant-Ula told them. "Well, Tiger, this is it," Hare said, "so before we all die and become spider snacks, I want the last words you hear to be this…YOUR BROTHER IS A COWARD AND IT'S HIS FAULT WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE NOW! ALL BECAUSE HE WAS DO AFRAID TO DO ANYTHING BUT JUST SUCCUMB! SHOWS HOW WELL YOU RAISED HIM!"

"FUCK YOU, HARE!" exploded an extremely infuriated Tiger. "JUST FOR THAT, I HOPE YOU GET EATEN FIRST! GRAY WOLF IS NOT A DAMN COWARD, AND IF ANYTHING, YOU ARE! AND IF YOU HAD YOUR OWN BROTHER, YOU'D JUST RAISE HIM TO CARE ABOUT NOTHING BUT MONEY, ANYWAY! SO UP YOURS!" He bit Hare on the ears and snarled: "That's for all the grief you ever gave me and Gray Wolf in the past! Since we're gonna perish, I thought I should give you that comeuppance now!"

"Why, you!" yelled Hare, trying to ignore the pain as the spiders came at them. "If I was free, I'd kick your ass!" "This from the one who only nailed me once, and due to cheating!" a retort from Tiger consisted of. "And who always chickens out!" "Come on, guys!" Holly cried. "Do you have to fight like that even when we're in our final moments?" Tiger stopped and so did Hare, though they refused to look at each other. Tyrant-Ula said: "My, that was entertaining. Do be sure to eat them last for giving us such a fun show, whatever order you pick. But for now, do whatever you will with the others, but make sure to save the best parts of all of them for your one and only king." "Will do, Tyrant-Ula!" a drone replied.

Tyrant-Ula started laughing evilly and the spiders advanced upon the nine goodies, then crawled up them and got ready to sink their fangs into the first one they chose. All of a sudden, however, lightning bolts, ice breath, wind attacks and speedy slashing moves went all about the region of the lair, much to the shock of Tyrant-Ula. All the other spiders would have been just as shocked, but they were quickly destroyed one way or the other. The nine goodies, along with an astounded Tyrant-Ula, looked to see who had done this. And it was, in fact, GRAY WOLF!

"GRAY WOLF!" all of the nine goodies exclaimed in unison. "Brother! You're alive!" Tiger howled. "Indeed, I am!" Gray Wolf roared. "And I'm just as ready to show Tyrant-Ula all the what-for I can dish out, which is endless multitudes of it!" "How is this possible?" screamed Tyrant-Ula. "I left you trapped in your own fears to die!" "I was able to find it in me to make it so my determination and care for my brother and friends overcame my still existent but nicely suppressed for now fear of spiders such as yourself!" Gray Wolf answered. "Then I let my feral rage loose and destroyed everything in that shithole place you left me in and the place itself! As soon as I did that, I tracked you down to where your throne hole was! And it looks like just in the nick of time!" He then used his lightning attacks to blast apart the webbing tying down his pals.

"YEAH! We're free!" "Chi!" Mocchi added. "I knew you wouldn't fail, brother!" Tiger told him. "And you were right, brother!" Gray Wolf replied. "Oh, Gray Wolf! We cannot begin to thank or congratulate you enough!" Holly said. "But wait!" Pixie pointed out. "As grateful as we are, and as pleased as we are you've managed this, there is one more thing to deal with here." "That there is, Pixie!" Gray Wolf replied. "All the other evil spiders under here have been killed. Now only Tyrant-Ula remains." "Let's get him, then!" Big Blue shouted. "Chi!" Mocchi yelled.

"No." Gray Wolf told the others. "Usually, we'd do it as a group, but since he is the full epitome of everything that created my arachnophobia, and since I have to conquer my fear, plus make sure none of you are endangered again today, it has to be just him and me. There's no other way." The others understood and Gray Wolf jumped down in front of Tyrant-Ula, who then did a leap off of his throne and landed directly in front of Gray Wolf while the other goodies were told by Genki: "I think this is our cue to go. Tiger, you can track the exit, can't you?" "I can, but we must not leave without my brother! We must wait until he's won!" "No, brother." Gray Wolf in the next instant said. "It's best you leave. I will meet you on the surface after this is over."

Tiger sighed, realizing the reality of his brother's words: "All right. Everyone follow me. I will await your resurfacing, brother." He took off along with the others, and Hare said: "Phew! Am I ever glad to be finally getting the hell outta this place!" Tiger tracked down the exit with his super-senses, and Gray Wolf told him while he and the others took their leave: "I'll find you, brother. Just as soon as I squash Tyrant-Ula like the bug that he is." "That was a very, very, very foolish move on your part, Gray Wolf." Tyrant-Ula told him. "Now they can be full certain to be minus one comrade, and Tiger short one brother." "Wrong." Gray Wolf replied. "Both of us are starting this fight, but only one of us will be alive at the end."

"Precisely." Tyrant-Ula stated. "And believe me, Gray Wolf, I will devour your brother and friends right after I do the same to you." "Is that a fact?" asked Gray Wolf. "Pardon me for not believing you for shit." "So insolent. I'm amazed you could overcome and face your fear of me and my kind like this." Tyrant-Ula told Gray Wolf. "But before I murder you, I might as well reveal facts you probably never knew, all of which have to do with the fear you've managed to conquer for the time being." "Really now." Gray Wolf responded cynically. "Like what, jerk?"

Tyrant-Ula began: "I have been around for thousands of years. And during those years, I would discover a great many potential victims and utterly destroy them one way or the other, in the end either devouring them or letting them live with a derailed life and a fate worse than death as such. In your case, however, I saw you as one when you were a puppy, under the right sorts of circumstances. So I sent the very spider that attached itself to your face and sparked your fear of us to do what it did. It was, in fact, a minion of mine. And although he's gone now, due to how long ago that was and his not being long-lasting like me, it changes not the fact I sent him to get what would one day be a perfect kind of victim for me. Furthermore, it was I who sent that big spider who freaked you out a few nights ago in the cave, even though he got crushed by your big rock and ice monster friend in the end. He, too, was a minion of mine. And the same goes for the spider which dropped down in front of you just as that stupid girl used her amulet to help to cure you of your fear, so you'd still have it."

"So, it was all your doing, was it, Tyrant-Ula?" asked Gray Wolf. "All of it!" Tyrant-Ula replied boastfully. "And of course you know it was me who made sure you got the wrong kind of medicine and made you delusional and delirious! Oh, sure, it was put a stop to before any TRUE damage was done, and the doctor was found out to be innocent, but it changes not what I created for you. Just as I created the trap I put you in for you. And now, even as you freed yourself, were able to put your fear aside from the time being and save your friends, it will be me who ends the life you've lived up to this point, and as averse to spiders as you lived it!"

He let out an evil laugh, thinking these words would cause Gray Wolf unbearable pain, but Gray Wolf did not break under these revelations. Instead, he snarled: "So you pulled all of this shit, endangered my friends and those villagers and caused all this havoc and misleading. All for the sake of the power and chaos you crave so greedily." "Indeed, and it will serve as part of what one day leads to my world conquest!" Tyrant-Ula replied. "I don't care if it takes another fucking millennium. I WILL RULE THIS EARTH!" "No, you won't, and you won't be doing anything ever again, either." Gray Wolf responded. "You thought to break me, and before and after trying for that, you meant to do other things to ensure conquest of the Earth. But what you did not count on was that the power of my friendship with the group I'm now with and the love my brother and I eternally share was far stronger than any evil you could dish out. Any atrocity or vile act you could commit. Any move you could make. And you never understood such things as love, friendship or anything but tyranny, power, greed, chaos and evil. It is exactly this which made it so you could not break us, and it is exactly this which will make it so I take you down once and for all!"

"HA! Such bullshit, tommy rot rubbish!" Tyrant-Ula spat, and Gray Wolf knew as much as he did the moment was seconds away. "Your arrogance blinds you as much as your lack of any soul, spirit or redeeming qualities does. Just like your greed and tyrannical hunger for power. Pitiful." Gray Wolf replied. "And from what I know of you, having your minions do everything for you, you're seeming to me like all talk and no action, asshole. Which makes you as unfit to be a ruler as anything possibly can. You do what you do for nothing but power, adding to your already over-inflated pride and to thrive on terror. I, on the other hand, do what I do for atoning for past wrongs, the greater good and the sake of the future, my brother and my friends. Which is why you will never defeat me. Not physically, not mentally and certainly not spiritually!"

"LIES!" roared Tyrant-Ula, and as of this moment, their fight began. "I WILL CRUSH YOU WITH USE OF ALL MY POWER AND WITH YOUR FEAR YOU TRY SO HARD TO IGNORE!" But Gray Wolf dodged the front leg swipe of Tyrant-Ula and slashed him down the head with his claws, going: "Once more, you are wrong, and your lack of knowledge is one of so many things which will make sure this is the final time you'll ever wreak your reign of terror on any part of this world!" "AAAAAAAA!" Tyrant-Ula screamed, but then he hit Gray Wolf with another of his legs and knocked him against a wall. "How dare you cut me like that, dog!"

But Gray Wolf got up, fired lightning at Tyrant-Ula and thought: "To think this is the # 1 moment of me facing my worst fear, especially now that I know he was the cause of it all! Well, I didn't fail before, and I certainly won't fail or give up now of all times!" Tyrant-Ula yelled in pain but he fired a web onto Gray Wolf and stuck him to the wall. Then he crawled onto it and asked: "Tell me, canine, how does it feel to realize even with all your newfound advantages, you still will not be able to defeat me?" He battered Gray Wolf with his legs, but Gray Wolf bit his head and slashed himself free of the web.

He then leapt back, ignoring the blood spilling out from his mouth and visible in patches on his body, and replied: "It doesn't feel like anything, because that's not how it is, dipshit!" An instant later, Tyrant-Ula leapt on Gray Wolf and pinned him to the ground, responding to this cut of a retort with: "For that snide remark, you shall be devoured by me one piece at a time!" But an instant after that, Gray Wolf shoved Tyrant-Ula off of him with his feet. He hit the wall, but then leapt back down and went: "So, you've lasted much longer than I expected!"

"Yes, and I'm going to last that long and all the way through the rest of my life, whereas yours is getting cut short!" Gray Wolf replied. He nailed Tyrant-Ula with a wind attack, but then Tyrant-Ula battered him with web projectiles galore and told him: "Think again, prey of mine!" He then leapt at Gray Wolf and shape-shifted into every familiar face he knew and every spider there was in rapid succession. While doing this, he nailed Gray Wolf with at least two attacks from each form, but Gray Wolf would not back down. As he looked like he was about to keel on over, Tyrant-Ula told him: "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I have won! And now I'll drain your blood, feast on your flesh and allow your lost disk to serve as a trophy! And, Gray Wolf?"

He leapt at him and added: "You've had this coming for God only knows how long!" But Gray Wolf was not beaten and he recovered just in time to counterattack with an ice breath blow move. It froze Tyrant-Ula solid and Gray Wolf retorted: "You're a fine one to talk, Tyrant-Ula! But talk is something you will never do again as of now, and so is everything else, for that damn matter!" He unloaded all of his tail, claw, horn, tooth and speed related attacks onto Tyrant-Ula, then he, as more and more blood spilled out of him from the beating he got and the pain also got worse by the second for the same reason, was able to ignore it just long enough to hit his frozen foe with a lightning attack. He then looked up, saw a huge, long, thick stalactite and blasted it off of where it was held with one more lightning attack.

Then it fell down and landed directly in the center of the frozen Tyrant-Ula, point first. In the process, well, it doesn't take a genius to find out what resulted from this. Tyrant-Ula was as much impaled dead as he was broken and shattered to pieces. Gray Wolf then roared out in his loudest of howls: "VICTORY! I HAVE WON! TYRANT-ULA IS DEAD, THE FUTURE IS SAVED FROM HIM ALONG WITH INNOCENTS AND MY GROUP, AND I HAVE FULLY CONQUERED MY FEAR!" But then he realized that he had to take off out of here and meet with his friends back on the surface fast, due to how injured he was and how much blood he lost.

So he used his senses to find his way to the exit along with his speed, all while thinking: "But more time to celebrate later. Right now, I have to make it out alive and make sure I'm able to reunite with my fellow goodies before I either bleed to death or pass out, preferably the latter." Thankfully, he was able to find his way out and quickly saw his fellow goodies, who saw him in the distance as he ran towards them. "What the…who's that?" asked Hare. "Wait…it looks like Gray Wolf!" exclaimed Suezo. "Chi!" Mocchi added. "It's your brother, Tiger, Chi!" All of them ran for the approaching Gray Wolf, talking up a storm while going towards him to reunite, and, in Tiger's case, embrace him.

"Holy God, you're right!" exclaimed Tiger. "Gray Wolf! Brother!" "He's alive! That must mean he's done it!" Pixie shouted. "You mean he's won? Tyrant-Ula is gone?" Genki's exclamation came from. "And he's alive, as well, most importantly?" "It's the only way we can see him coming towards us!" Holly went out delightedly. "And my amulet is showing this is, in fact, the case!" "YES!" Tiger shouted. "I KNEW HE'D WIN!" "Golem so proud of Gray Wolf, it's not even funny!" Golem put in. He was especially so due to still remembering how just a few days ago, Gray Wolf had clung to him to keep away from Tyrant-Ula's sent servant.

"Come to us now, Gray Wolf! You have made it so it is over, and we wish to commend you and bring you home with us!" Big Blue called. "Which you well deserve after all you have been through, brother!" Tiger added in. But when they got to where Gray Wolf was and vice versa, they saw what hideous shape he was in. Much to their shock, of course. "Although…I understand fully…why you have said what you did…and done what you did…" Gray Wolf told them in small gasps of short breath, "…I think before…anything else…I will need some help with these…wounds…done to me…" He then keeled over and passed out.

A few hours later, Gray Wolf awoke, and he saw that he was, in fact, back in the cave with all of the other goodies. He also noticed Holly was making some hot soup on a fire nearby, plus that Tiger was lying down on his stomach right next to him and keeping him company as much as putting a comforting paw over him and licking his wounded areas.

He realized instantly what this meant. "They must have brought me back here while I was out and started treating my injuries. Good to know. Although, I wish I didn't have to feel like a little puppy one last time. But there's no accounting for bodily damage, I suppose…"

TO BE CONCLUDED…

So, this was the second to last chapter, and the climactic one, as well? What did you think of such a climax? Please rate and review, and I am hoping you will enjoy the last chapter, which will follow this one as soon as I get the chance to write it!


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, time for the final chapter to this spooky yet cool Monster Rancher fanfic! Gray Wolf is being tended to as he recovers from the injuries received during his fight with Tyrant-Ula, and he's glad to have won, survived and conquered his fear at long last, plus put an end to the long line of evil Tyrant-Ula had kept going for so many millennia. But now there are some loose ends to tie up, and some nice cooling off, sweet moments to see, which will be seen in the seventh and last chapter of this story, which is also what will conclude it, of course.

I own none of the characters. They all belong to Monster Rancher. I would say I own Tyrant-Ula, but, as you saw at the end of the previous chapter, he's dead now. So it's back to basics.

Chapter 7-Healing And Heartwarming

Gray Wolf had to admit, this felt very nice. Not to mention comforting. And it was the first truly pleasant feeling he'd felt in the past few days or so. He was exhausted, spent, bleeding a bit and in pain from his fight, but it still felt good due to how nicely he was being cared for in his time of need, not to mention how it all pointed to the fact he'd won his fight, conquered his fear of spiders, destroyed Tyrant-Ula once and for all and ended the threat of him and of course had beaten the best, since he had to fight so hard to achieve his goal.

Soon enough, he saw Holly bring over that nice, hot soup to him. While he didn't like having to feel like a puppy again, his injuries made it so he had to recover, so he dealt with it. If Tiger, who did his best to teach him how to survive in their lone thief days, could treat him so pampering-like for his needs, then it was clear he didn't have to feel younger than he was or feel embarrassed about any of this. Still, he'd hoped he could feel like his true self as soon as Tyrant-Ula was defeated, but not so. It was a bit frustrating, but he could cope with it.

"Thanks…for the soup…Holly…" he breathed as he licked a bit of it up with his tongue. "Of course, Gray Wolf. We really commend you for taking down Tyrant-Ula." "And we can tell you have conquered your fear in doing so, brother. This is especially praiseworthy, especially if you ask me." "Good to know, brother…" Gray Wolf responded. "By the way, I probably should tell…you guys…some things I learned…during my final fight with Tyrant-Ula…kind of crucial to know…" "All right, tell us, but don't take too long. You need to recover." Pixie said.

Gray Wolf gave a weak nod and told them everything Tyrant-Ula had revealed to him. As soon as he was done, everyone was astounded as much as bewildered. "So Tyrant-Ula was the one who made it so you became arachnophobic as a puppy? And both the spider that did that to you and the one which startled you a few days ago were both servants of his?" asked Genki. "He sure had what he got coming to him!" Suezo shouted. "Chi!" added Mocchi. "Way to go, though, Gray Wolf." Hare said. "You made sure he'd be put a permanent halt to. Oh, and one thing…"

Hare then turned to Tiger and said to him: "I'm sorry that I came down on you and insulted Gray Wolf like that, Tiger. I guess it was the fact I thought we would die and have a short fuse. Anyhow, I'm glad we, and he in particular, pulled through after all." "God, Hare," Tiger said, "I had no idea your personality had been turned upside down from this near death experience. And apology accepted." But he turned away from Hare while Gray Wolf said: "Me, a coward, Hare? Rich…coming from one whose…oh, never mind…I'm too tired." Hare rolled his eyes, and then Gray Wolf said to his comrades: "By the way, something…worth noting."

"Yeah?" asked Big Blue. "What is it, Gray Wolf?" asked Golem. Gray Wolf then said: "I not only conquered my fear like you've all said I did, but though I suppressed it in order to do so, it was a permanent conquering. I don't think I'll ever freak at spiders again, though seeing them, I admit it, still makes me uncomfortable. Still, even though I've stopped suppressing my fear, due to there being no reason any more now that Tyrant-Ula is dead and so are his minions, I'm still certain it'll never be as severe as it once was." "That is wonderful to hear, brother." Tiger told Gray Wolf. "I am more glad to hear it most of all." He then licked Gray Wolf repeatedly.

Gray Wolf smiled and then Holly said: "Well done, Gray Wolf. We knew you could do it." "You just had to find it in you, and believing in yourself and never giving up resulted in just that." Genki said. "Chi! Gray Wolf do great, Chi!" Mocchi put in cheerfully.

"I would be feeling great and invincible about it if I weren't so drained…" Gray Wolf told them, and then he took a few more sips of his soup. "Good soup, by the way. What kind is it?" "Fish and rabbit mixed." Tiger replied. "I got both of them while you were out and Holly broiled them down with the help of boiling water into this hot soup which will help you get all of your strength back." "Can't thank you enough, brother." Gray Wolf responded.

He then looked to Holly and said: "Or you, Holly." "You're quite welcome." Holly told him. "I wonder how long it will be before he recovers, by the way?" asked Pixie. "It doesn't really matter, does it, Pixie?" asked Genki. "After all, we've got all the time in the world now that all this madness is good and over." "Point well seen." Pixie replied.

And then Big Blue said: "I think we can look forward to a much better future now, and a lot of praise and thanks from the villages, considering what Tyrant-Ula was planning." "True! I bet they'll pay us well, too!" Hare smiled. "Not money talk already, Hare." Tiger sighed. "You are literally the only one who would think of cash at a time such as this one."

"Now, now, Tiger, you wouldn't want to stir it up with me when you're busy taking care of your brother, would you?" asked Hare. "It's the only reason I'm not shredding you to ribbons right here and now." Tiger replied as he nestled into Gray Wolf to give him more comfort and warmth. Hare took a leave to another part of the cave and then Gray Wolf said: "Way…to tell his ass…off, brother." "Why, thank you." Tiger replied. Gray Wolf then didn't talk again until he'd finished up with lapping up his soup little by little.

When he did, though, he said: "I would also like to thank all of you for helping me in my time of need like you did, and making it so I could overcome my fear." "Of course, Gray Wolf." a reply from Genki consisted of. "It's what friends are for, and you'd do the same for us." Pixie added. "Yeah, I would." Gray Wolf admitted. "You and Tiger, especially." He looked up to his brother and said: "By the way, a little bonus. Due to your telling him off a few moments ago, we all get the ultimate gift to go with everything else tonight, but us two in particular."

"I know what you're talking about, Gray Wolf." Tiger said. "Namely, a night without Hare!" They laughed and so did everyone else, though the two wolves were the only ones who did not roll their eyes at the same time as laughing. It would clearly be a much more golden age for the group of them now that they had made it so Gray Wolf was cured of his fear and would never be afraid of spiders like he once was again. Soon enough, Gray Wolf fell asleep and Tiger did the same, the two brothers sleeping as they were snuggled up to each other.

All of the other goodies eventually fell asleep as well and decided they'd try as hard as possible to take their minds off of all they just went through for just a little while, at least until the next day would dawn. But let's not forget how hard they had to fight to overcome this, and how it would be good to beware, because anything scary, however unreal, can take place on the night or in the month of Halloween!

THE END

And that's a wrap! Quite the story, wouldn't you say? And I do hope you liked this final chapter, which I'd like ratings and reviews on, please. Happy Halloween, everybody, even if I'm saying it a little bit in advance!


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